My Life as Haruno Sakura
by TFK-fan118
Summary: Normal life? Not anymore! Somehow, I've been transfered into Naruto's ninja-tastic world and the story started all over again! That's not even the worst part! Will someone explain to me why I'm in HARUNO SAKURA'S BODY? Revision complete.
1. Friends or Foes?

_Naruto and Sasuke:_

_Friends or Foes?_

Waking up with a headache is not fun at all. My brain throbbed to the point where I grabbed my forehead in an effort to stop the pain. _"Is my head swollen or something?" _I thought, getting off my bed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I went over to a mirror. _"Wait, since when do I have a full body mirror in my room?" _Finally, I cracked my eyes open. What I saw made me want to die on the spot! "Please tell me that I left the T.V. on again!" I exclaimed, rubbing my eyes again. Hesitantly, I reopened my eyes only to see that I was _still_ staring at Sakura's body. I tried doing complex movements, but the mirror just copied. _"No! This is just a dream! A horrible, horrible nightmare!"_ I pinched myself, leaving a stinging feeling in my arm.

"_Ow_! Okay, so this isn't a dream..." I muttered to myself. Holy... hell, I'm in Sakura's BODY! Wait... does this mean she's in my body? Holy... hell, what if she's in _my_body? "My life is over!" I screamed really loud. "Wait a sec...?" I looked at the mirror again... something was wrong—well, besides the fact that I'm in freaking Sakura's body. Her hair... was long again. "Didn't she cut it?"

"Sakura! Stop screaming, you're going to wake someone up!" a female's voice shouted through a door. Must be Sakura's mom or something. "Why are you up anyway? You don't go to the academy for at least another four hours."

"I... I just fell out of bed, that's all!" I replied back. I heard footsteps departing; I sighed out in relief. _"Wait a minute... did she just say academy? But they already... maybe the show started over?" _I looked around my—_er_, Sakura's room and noticed a Konoha head band on what seemed to be a desk._ "I guess it did start from the beginning where Sakura was first introduced."_ Well, I guess I can take a shower now... I pulled at Sakura's hair and made a face. _"I never did like her pink hair." _I wonder if they have hair dye here…

0-0

"Sakura, you're going to me late!" Sakura's mom called.

"I'M JUST PUTTING MY HEADBAND ON!" I yelled back.

"Okay, you don't have to yell!" her mother said. I walked out of Sakura's house after I did a quick once over. Okay, so I'm not used to this whole being Sakura.

_"Man, does this mean I have to act like her too? Cause that's not gonna happen!" _I thought grinning. _"I might be in Sakura's body... but I am __**not **__Sakura!"_

**That's right!**

Okay, what the heck was that? Please don't tell me that I have an Inner Sakura too! _"Of all the rotten luck!"_ I thought.

**Actually, I'm your Inner Mayu! **

_"Well, aren't I lucky,"_ I thought sarcastically. _"I've finally lost it..."_

"Good morning, Sakura!" someone's voice got my attention. I looked up to see a girl with blond hair in a high ponytail. She looked familiar...

"Oh... Hi, Ino!" I said cheerfully. I can't believe I had forgotten about Yamanaka Ino. She has a rivalry with Sakura over... Uchiha Sasuke! I walked beside her. She must be headed to the same place I was. I'm glad because I had no clue where this academy was!

"Hey, why did you change your hair color?" Ino asked, looking at my hair closely; I touched my hair instinctively.

"Well, I needed the change. Now that I'm a ninja I need to blend in more so I changed my hair color to black," I answered. "I even braided it!" Sakura's hair was now black and had a long braid coming out of the back. The headband was around my—Sakura's—forehead. I made Sakura look like some sorta warrior.

**There's no way I'm walking around with pink hair!**

"Hmm... I can't believe they let someone like you become a ninja," Ino said.

"Well, we are both ninja now so I suggest that we focus more on that than Sasuke," I said, closing my eyes and then opened them again. "To tell you the truth, I really don't like Sasuke, so you can have him."

I felt Ino's eyes on me. "You're actually giving up on Sasuke-kun?" she asked, and the way she said it... I could tell that she didn't believe me.

"Yeah, I'll even put in a good word for you when I see him!" I said. I don't want to be Ino's rival. "Besides... I want us to be friends again!" I heard Ino gasp at my remark. "So what do you say?" I asked

"O-Okay..." Ino said.

"Great, now let's go to the academy and get you that Uchiha!" I said. "Race ya!" I yelled after I had run off.

"Sakura, you cheater!" I heard Ino yell, I hope she catches up soon... because I really don't know where I'm headed.

**I'm going to make Sakura's life a living hell! SHAZAAM! **

0-0

"I'm first!" Ino and I said at the same time... Afterwards, we started panting. "I win again, Sakura!"

"Ha! You wish!" I said, grinning.

"So are you really going to hook me up with Sasuke?" Ino asked; I nodded to answer her question.

"Of course... Hey, there he is!" I said pointing so only Ino noticed. "I'm about to go talk to him for you! That's what best friends are for, right?" I left Ino to go down to the desk where Sasuke was... there was also... _"N-N-Naruto... the star of the show!" _I thought, not holding back a smile.

"Hi, Sakura-chan...!" Naruto said standing up.

"Hey, Naruto!" I replied back giving a small wave.

"Wow, Sakura-chan... you look even more pretty with your hair like that!" Naruto complimented.

"Thanks, Naruto!" I smiled. "Anyway, I have to talk to Sasuke for a minute."

"Sasuke...?" Naruto said looking at the youngest of the Uchiha.

"Yeah, it will only take a minute!" I replied, moving passed Naruto; I walked up to Uchiha and waited for him to acknowledge me. But he didn't even look at me. I could feel my eye twitch. "Sasuke, I have to speak to you," I said in the nicest voice I could muster, he looked at me, so I sat down next to him. "I want to talk to you about my friend; ya see she likes you a lot. So I was wondering if you could give her a chance."

"No," he said; my eye twitched again.

"Why...?" I asked.

"I'm not interested in girls right now," Sasuke answered, making me sigh.

"So…" I stared at him, trying hard not to laugh. "You're interested in boys, then?" Not liking my question or the way I was probably grinning, Sasuke glared at me. "Look—can you at least look at her?" I asked.

"Ya know, you're the first girl that has come up to me and asked could I date their friend," Sasuke said.

"Are ya going to look or not?" I asked. "And no offense but, you're not my type... I don't like you like that. Hell, I wanna fight you." Sasuke looked at me with a frown on his face; I arched an eyebrow at this.

"Well...?" I asked... I didn't want to talk to him. I'd rather talk to Naruto, Hinata or Shika! I love that smart dude!

"Which one is she?" Sasuke asked, sighing. I think my eyes grew wide in shock!

_"Is he really going to do this?" _I thought.

**GIRL POWER!**

"She's over by the door; the blond," I said, I saw him look back... _"I can't believe he's actually doing it!"_ I thought, grinning.

"Happy?" Sasuke said.

"That depends... did she see you?" I asked and he nodded. "Then, we're cool. Thanks."

"Hey, get away from my Sasuke-kun! I wanted to sit by him!" a female's voice screech.

"Let me guess... fangirl?" I asked and Sasuke just gave me an 'hn'.

"Get up! I wanna sit by Sasuke-kun!" another female said. I stood up in anger.

"Would you get a life? It's kinda obvious that he isn't going to say anything to you, anyway!" I yelled. "It's like you are a bunch of mindless zombies! I don't see what you girls like about him, anyway! He's a walking Popsicle for crying out loud! I mean, where's your girl power?"

"Hey, I've got girl power!" another fangirl protested, knocking Naruto over.

"Don't knock Naruto down!" I yelled, pushing her out of the way. I felt the girl's hand on my shoulder and then I was roughly pulled back. "Did you just touch me? Okay, that it! Now, I'm mad!" I yelled, cracking my knuckles.

I suddenly heard someone clear their throat. I looked towards the front of the classroom to see Iruka. He's the guy with the scar on his nose; everyone took their seats... I was still sitting by Sasuke... I'd rather sit by someone else. "You all are now Genin, you will be assigned to a three man squad led by a jounin, an elite ninja," he said, gaining everyone's attention.

"Well, someone is going to end up with Sasuke-kun," I heard Ino said. She was sitting right behind me. "I wonder who..."

"I don't know, but I hope it's you, Ino!" I replied looking back.

"We want each squad to have balance strength and abilities, so that's how we set them up. Now I will call out the teams. Squad 7... Uzumaki Naruto... Haruno Sakura..."

_"Guess that's me..."_ I thought. Naruto stood up and shouted a 'yay!'

"And Uchiha Sasuke!" Iruka finished. I could feel almost every girl's glares on me. Jeez, talk about obsessive little freaks! I turned around to Ino.

"Sorry Ino, I would change if I could," I said.

**As if I would pass the chance to be with Naruto!**

"Whatever, as long as I don't get paired up with a lazy bum," Ino said.

_"There's goes that plan," _I thought, glancing at Shikamaru, who was right next to Ino.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing...!" I replied turning back around to hide my grin.

"Team 8... Hyuga Hinata ... Inuzuka Kiba... and Aburame Shino," Iruka said.

_"Oh man! I kinda wanted Kiba!"_ I thought, frowning. _"Why couldn't I get Hinata's body?"_

"Sakura-chan, is there something wrong?" I heard Naruto ask me.

"Nothing, I just didn't want to be teamed up with Uchiha," I answered sighing. "... But I guess there's the bright side."

"What's the bright side?" Naruto asked, curious. Meanwhile, I heard Sasuke grumble something. Was he mad...? NAH!

"I can find out his weaknesses and take him down! _Muwahahahaha_," I started laughing evilly. I could feel a lot of people's eyes on me but I didn't care...

**SHAZAAM! I'm gonna act a fool while I'm in this body!**

"Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be on the same team as Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke has the best scores of all the graduating students and Naruto, you had the worst," Iruka answered; I snickered when Naruto whimpered. "To create a balanced squad we put the best student with the worst student."

"Just make sure you don't get in my way," Sasuke said, making Naruto growl; I just snickered again. "Loser..."

"Hey, what did you say?" Naruto growled out.

"Hard of hearing?" Sasuke asked, he sounded sarcastic.

"Just be quiet Naruto!" I said calmly. "It doesn't really help if you fight with your own teammate... no matter _how_ long the pole stuck up their ass is." This caused everyone laugh... well the guys anyway. "You know it's true! I mean, how many times has Sasuke said hello or maybe even looked at you?" No answer, just silence throughout the classroom. "Yeah, I thought so!" I grinned. Iruka cleared his throat again.

"After lunch, you will meet your new sensei," he said. "Until then, class dismissed." FINALLY!

0-0

"Jeez, Sasuke sure went off fast!" I said walking by the school. "Maybe he had to take a shi-"

"Hey, Sakura-chan...!" I turned around to see Naruto coming my way. "Since we're in the same group... I thought we could eat lunch together."

"I'm really not that hungry," I said. "… yet."

"Hey, do you like Sasuke?" Naruto asked. I froze... no, he did not just say that! "I mean… I kinda thought you did for the longest time."

"No way!" I yelled. "Yeah, I respect him as a fighter and all, but that's it!"

**I like Gaara a lot more!**

Ooooh, Gaara... I can feel my face grow hot just thinking about that cute red head. _"I love his eyes!" _I thought, giggling inwardly. I am such a hypocrite...

"Then why are you blushing?" Naruto's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I-I-I'm not blushing!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. "Well, I have to go, see ya!"

"Wait, Sakura!" Naruto called to me but I just kept on running.

0-0

I was sitting on a bench panting lightly. _"Why exactly did I run?" _I thought. _"Man, I'm dumb!"_ I suddenly felt someone staring at me. I looked up to see Sasuke; he was leaning against a tree. _"Why is he smiling?"_ My eyes narrowed in suspicion. _"He's up to something."_

"Sakura," his voice got my attention after I looked away.

"What do you want, Uchiha?" I asked with a bored tone.

"Your forehead is so wide and charming..." Sasuke said.

"_Excuse_ me...?"

"It makes me feel like kissing it," he finished.

"Well, if you wanted to freak me out—you are successful."

"Just kidding, that's the kinda thing Naruto would say," Sasuke said. I knew it! This is Naruto in disguise! "Hey, I wanna ask you something."

"What is it?" I asked, rolling my eyes; Naruto's so dumb... yet so adorable! No wonder Hinata likes him.

"Naruto... what do you think of him?" he asked.

"He's cool, I like his personality," I answered, truthfully. "He's is definitely better than yours! It's really no wonder that someone likes him."

"Someone like m—him?" Sasuke asked. Yeah, that's right. I heard your little mix up!

"Yeah, but I can't tell you... it's a secret between friends!" I said, wagging my finger at _Sasuke_.

"Secret huh...?" he said. "So... some girl likes Naruto?" I think I saw him blush. Man, I really hope that his ego doesn't go up because of this. "Come on Sakura, tell me who like m—him!"

"No!"

"Come on, why not?" I could tell that Naruto was coming out.

"You kinda sound like Naruto," I said making _Sasuke_ flinch. Sasuke suddenly grabbed his stomach and then ran away. "_Eww_! Naruto!" I said because I knew exactly where he was going. FIVE MINUTES LATER! I saw Sasuke walk right past me._ "That must be the real one, cold hearted little-" _My thoughts were cut off. Sasuke had suddenly stopped and looked at me.

"You're acting different," he said and then kept on walking. O... kay…

**Sasuke thinks he's so cool with his small ass remarks! Gaara's way cooler! **

0-0

Is it time to go in? I can't wait to see Kakashi! "I must have eaten something bad!" Naruto's voice got my attention.

"Hey! Naruto, wanna walk back to class together?" I asked waving. He gave me a blank look and then it turned into glare.

"You're trying to trick me eh, wise guy?" he yelled. Huh...? What is he talking about now? "Well forget it!" Naruto suddenly held his stomach again with a grimace on his face.

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AGAIN?" Naruto shouted and then ran away. Well, alright-y then! I guess I'll head back, now.


	2. Survial Test

_Pass or Fail:_

_Survival Test _

"He's late!" Naruto said looking out of the door.

"Naruto, maybe you should just sit down," I said. I had no idea they waited this long for Kakashi to arrive! I mean, we've been waiting for about a two hours and a half!

"I don't want to! How come our teacher is the only one that's late? I'm ready to rumble, believe it!" Naruto said. "The other groups have already met their new teachers and took off on some adventure or something. Iruka-sensei isn't here either."

"Yeah, yeah..." I mumbled closing my eyes. _"That's the only thing I don't like about Kakashi... he' always late!"_ I thought.

Naruto suddenly started making a lot of noise making me look up at him. "What are you doing?" I asked, I saw Sasuke look up too. I walked up to Naruto who was standing on a stool putting an eraser in between the door and the wall; he was laughing.

"That's what he gets for being late!" Naruto said hopping off the stool. "Surprise!"

"Naruto, you're brilliant!" I said.

**I would have used a bucket of water!**

"You both are idiots, our teacher's a jounin, an elite ninja," Sasuke's voice got my attention; I rolled my eyes. "Do you honestly think he will fall for that?"

"Heck yeah!" I said. "If he does you have to do me a favor!" I grinned. With Sasuke's pride, he will probably agree.

"I'm not dating you," Sasuke said flatly.

"You _really_ need to get over yourself!" I said with a grimace. I even shuddered to show my revulsion. Sasuke glared at me, but I ignored it. I smirked. "So how about it?"

"Fine, it's not like he'd fall for it anyway," Sasuke muttered.

Suddenly the door started opening, we were all looking at the door waiting. Kakashi head popped into the door and the eraser dropped on his head and then fell to the floor. Naruto started laughing his head off! "I got him! He totally fell for it!" he laughed.

"Looks like someone owes Ino a _kiss_!" I said in a sing song voice, making Sasuke grumble. We all stared at Kakashi as he picked up the eraser.

"_Hmm_... How can I put this?" Kakashi asked himself while rubbing his chin. "My first impression of this group... I hate you all."

_"Well, that was kinda harsh!"_ I thought frowning.

0-0

"All right, why don't you guys introduce yourselves?" Kakashi asked. "One at a time..." We were all finally outside, Kakashi was in front of us and we were sitting down.

"What are we supposed to say?" I asked.

"Things you like, things you hate... dreams for the future... hobbies, things like that," Kakashi answered.

"Hey, can you go first? So we can see how to do it?" I asked.

"Me, I'm Hatake Kakashi... things I like and things I hate... I don't feel like telling you that," he said. My eyes narrowed. "My dreams for the future... never really thought about it, as for my hobbies... I have lots of hobbies."

"Well, that was a waste," I muttered, Naruto nodded in agreement.

"OK, your turn... You on the right!" Kakashi said. I guess he was talking about Naruto since I'm on the left and Sasuke was in the middle.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant Ramen in a cup and I like the Ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the noodle shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup!" Naruto started. "My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage, then the village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody; somebody important!"

"Alright, next…?" Kakashi said. His uncovered eye took a glance in my direction, so I chose now to speak.

"My name is Haruno Sakura," I said. I suppressed a frown. "I like singing randomly, sparring, and messing with people's head. I tend to be inside my own head, so don't bother talking to me when I have a dazed expression on my face. Hobbies… Hm, I guess fighting would be a hobby. My dream... well, it's not really a dream because I _will_ make it a reality... I will kill a certain person."

**SHAZAAM! Orochimaru must die!**

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I made an 'ahem' sound and continued. "And things I hate... I guess its people who think they can do anything and everything _alone_. Ignorant people," I finished. Sasuke didn't seem to notice or care that I glanced at him. "Oh, and I'm not really a bug fan either!"

"Okay... last one," Kakashi said.

"My name is... Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't practically like anything," Sasuke said. His eyes were focused on an unknown object.

"Saw that coming!" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain... someone," he finished.

"Wow, way to be a copy cat, ne?" Naruto chuckled at my comment, causing me to grin. Sasuke ignored me. Afterwards, it got quiet.

"Good, you're each unique and have your own ideas, except for you, Sasuke," Kakashi said. I think I'm going to like Kakashi-sensei. "We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"What kinda mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked.

"It's a task the four of us will do together," Kakashi answered.

"What? What? What? What?" Naruto asked. Clearly, he was excited.

"Survival training," he answered.

"Survival training...?"

"I'm down with whatever," I said.

"This isn't like your previous training, though," Kakashi stated.

"What kinda training is it then?" Naruto asked. The older ninja actually started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it," Kakashi said, and then laughed again. "Of the 27 graduates that came here, only nine will actually be accepted as genin, the other 18 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy."

"So in other words... if we fail this we have to start all over again?".

"Yes, Sakura, that is correct. The chance of failing is at least 66 percent," Kakashi said explained. Naruto freaked out. "See, didn't I tell you that you wouldn't like it?"

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here!" Naruto shouted. "What was that graduation test for anyway?"

"Oh that, that was just to select candidates who_ might_ become genin," Kakashi said. "Or not!"

"Whaaat?" Naruto shouted.

"That's how it is," Kakashi continued. "I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5 A.M. and bring your ninja gear."

_"If I fail... then I won't ever get to see Gaara!"_ I thought with a determined look on my face.

"That's it, you're dismissed... oh, you might want to skip breakfast tomorrow or else... you'll puke," Kakashi said making my eyes go wide.

_"That's the reason they didn't eat?"_ I thought. _"Man, I knew I should have watched all of these episodes!" _

0-0

It is soooo early in the morning! I was walking to where we were supposed meet. I saw Sasuke walking towards the same place. "Hey," I waved weakly and then yawned. I'm really not used to waking up this early and Kakashi isn't even going to be here on time.

"Hn," Sasuke said stopping; I stopped too.

"Wonder where Naruto is?" I thought out loud. "Oh, wait, there he is!" The sun finally came up but still there was no sign of Kakashi.

Naruto and I had been sat down but Sasuke remained standing._ "Stubborn mule,"_ I thought rolling my eyes. Finally, Kakashi appeared in front of us; Naruto and I stood up.

"Morning, everyone…!" He had the nerve to sound cheerful. "Ready for your first day?" Kakashi asked.

"Hey, you're late!" Naruto shouted.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way," Kakashi explained.

_"What a lame excuse,"_ I should my head in disappointment.

"Well, let's get started," Kakashi said. "Here we go," he pulled out a timer. "It's set for noon. Your assignment is very simple, you have to take these bells from me... that's all there is to it."

_"Yeah, he _makes_ it sound real easy,"_ I thought.

"If you can't get them by noon you go without lunch," Kakashi explained.

"_Waaaaah_?" Naruto said.

"I'll tie you to the stump and eat right in front of you!" Kakashi said.

_"That's why he told us not to eat!"_ I thought, clutching my poor hungry stomach. I should have, at least, eaten some fruit before I left the house! Not fair! "So tell us the rules already!" I said out loud.

"And how come there are only two bells when they're three of us?" Naruto asked. This caused Kakashi chuckle.

"You only need one bell and since there are two bells only, one of you will definitely fail, that one will go back to the academy. But then again, all three of you could fail, too. You can use your shuriken too. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill me you won't get the bells."

"Fine, let's go!" I said fully prepared to do this.

"Yeah, but you will be in danger sensei! Especially since you couldn't dodge an eraser!" Naruto said. Oh, he's definitely gonna get it.

"Class clowns are usually the ones with no skills. You can safely ignore them," Kakashi said. I felt my eyebrow twitch. He didn't have to say that. Judging by Naruto's agitated face, he didn't approve of it either. I probably shouldn't, but I felt obligated to speak.

"Excuse me, Kakashi-san!" I shouted, drawing his attention. He looked very surprised. Well, I could be loud if I wanted to. Growing up in a house where you had to speak loud in order to be heard did have its perks. Thanks Ishikari Sheena. Oh, how I love my mother. "Your last comment was not called for, especially since it's true."

"Sakura-chan…?"

"Yes, class clowns are usually the ones with no skill," I continued, ignoring Naruto's voice. He sounded hurt. "One of the main reasons for that is because they feel as though they're ignored, so they strive for any attention they can get, thus making people try to ignore them harder. Of _course_, someone who has not been shown any attention will have no skill because they haven't been taught anything! But you don't have to use this fact as an insult!" My eyes narrowed further, probably glaring by now. "Instead of insulting my teammate, why don't you take a minute to understand his behavior since you have the potential of being our sensei?"

For a moment or two, no one spoke. I guess my words came as quite the shock to them. Honestly, I couldn't help it. Naruto shouldn't be treated a certain way just because people are ignorant of his situation. So yeah, I told Kakashi to his face. I sharply averted my eyes. This man had a long way to go before I would start respecting him again. What he said was low. After another minute of silence, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well… it seems you are ready to come at me with an intent to kill. Perhaps I'll start liking you guys." His voice was soft. He briefly closed his eye. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Naruto wore a small smile. "You may begin when I say start."

My foot shifted back. I had already made up my mind on what to do with this little exercise. I would try my best to aid Naruto and Sasuke. Perhaps we could actually _get_ the bells. Suddenly, Kakashi signaled the go ahead. At the same time, we all jumped somewhere. Sasuke went to hide, probably intending to wait it out and strategize. Not me and Naruto. I don't need to hide in order to plan. First, I would help Naruto with Kakashi, so he would see the glimpse of teamwork. That could lead to him considering the idea of working with Sasuke. Sasuke, though, would be a tough nut to crack. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, Naruto and I jumped over Kakashi. It was amazing experiencing what a ninja can do.

"Okay, it's you and me right now!" Naruto yelled, getting Kakashi's attention.

"Naruto, we could have used sneaking tactics!" I yelled. He looked slightly apologetic. "Too late now…"

"Sakura, you're actually going to fight me?" Kakashi asked turning his attention towards me.

"What can I say? You went ahead and made me angry!" I replied. "Besides, I am _not_ getting sent back to the academy!" My eyes glanced at my comrade. "Naruto and I will get those bells! Right, Naruto?"

"Right!" he agreed, nodding.

Naruto charged at Kakashi. In response, he went to grab something out of his back weapon's pouch. Luckily, Naruto noticed and stopped. "Ninja battle techniques part one," Kakashi's aloof voice said. "Taijutsu; the physical part."

_"Taijutsu…? Hand to hand combat is my specialty!" _I ran to Naruto's side. If I remembered correctly, Naruto wasn't great when it came to taijutsu. I would have to stick close to him. Kakashi then pulled out a book. I blinked... twice. _"Ah… I forgot about this…"_ I imagined that my face looked as though I swallowed something sour.

"What the...?" Naruto was confused.

"What are you waiting for?" Kakashi asked, looked up from reading. "Make your move."

"But... Why are you reading that book?" Naruto asked.

"Why...? To find out what happens next in the story, of course," Kakashi said. His eyes returned to the page. He actually flipped the page, too! "Don't worry about it. With your weak attacks I could read or do whatever..."

"I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!" Naruto yelled, charging at Kakashi.

"No, Naruto…!"

It was too late for him to hear my warning. Naruto tried to punch him, but Kakashi ducked. The young ninja tried to kick him. However, Kakashi had evaded that as well. He was practically dancing around Naruto's attempt at attacks. I frowned, watching the horrible display. Not only did Naruto have a weak stance, he basically had no reflexes either. He must really _not _have been taught. _"If we do succeed in being a team, Naruto, there's no way I'm going to watch you try to catch up. I will help you as much as I can."_ Kakashi suddenly made a hand sign. "Naruto, get outta the way!" I shouted.

"Too late!" Kakashi said, copying my sing song voice. "Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique-" His fingers met their mark. "A thousand years of pain!" Naruto flew in the air, screaming. He then splashed into the nearby pond. Believe it or not, I laughed my ass off. I can't even begin to describe how much more funny that was up close and personal like this. I even fell to the ground because I was laughing so hard.

My composure returned only after Kakashi cleared his throat. "You really shouldn't laugh at a teammate, Sakura," he scolded. The grin didn't disappear from my face.

"No, no, Kakashi-san… Laughing and poking fun at a teammate is quite healthy. It builds character," I explained. Standing up, I held my stomach. I giggled a bit before becoming completely serious. "Now, are you ready?"

"So you would like to test your luck?" Kakashi asked.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it!" I said. "The time for talk is over."

0-0

**Sasuke's POV**

0-0

_"What is she thinking?"_ I thought, glaring at Sakura. _"She can't possible go up against an elite ninja!"_ That cute fighter look must be going to her head. _"Where the hell did that just come from?"_ Just because she changed her hair color and hairstyle... _"Not to mention the fact that she seems to hate me now…" _All that doesn't cover up the fact that she's annoying.

_You really need to get over yourself..._

_Looks like someone owes Ino a kiss! _

_And no offense but, you're not my type... I don't like you like that. Hell, I wanna fight you._

Sakura's previous words echoed in my head. _"I don't understand... There's something odd with the way she's acting."_ The stupid girl tried to punch Kakashi, and like Naruto, she failed miserably. There was no way either of them would even touch a jounin. Who knows how much experience he has? Kakashi had ducked to block another oncoming punch, but Sakura did a back flip and in the process she kicked his chin! "WHAT?" I said out loud, too surprised to think of being quiet. "How the hell...?"

0-0

"... Did I just do that?" I asked myself. My wide eyes were focused on my feet. Is it possible that I can combine my Martial Arts skills and Sakura's ninja skills together? "Not gonna lie… That's kinda cool!"

"Impressive, Sakura, no one has actually hit caught me off guard like that," Kakashi remarked, rubbing his chin.

"Sorry...!" I said frantically. "I don't even know how I did that! Honest!"

"Sorry...?" Kakashi said. He began to walk towards me. I back away in fear of my life. I had no idea what was coming thanks to that little stunt. "There's no reason to modest or sorry." His calm demeanor about the situation only caused my apprehension to rise.

"NARUTO!" I shouted. Right on time, two shuriken shot out of the water towards Kakashi. However, he caught them using only his fingers. He hadn't even moved that much to do so. Kakashi turned around towards the water. _"Not that I'm not relieved about it, but why would he turn his back to me?"_ I thought, furrowing my eyebrows. _"Surely after that kick he'd think of me as some type of threat, right?"_ Naruto burst through the water panting and coughing.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked. "You know you won't get lunch if you can't get a bell by noon." He _still_ had his back to me! Does he not think I'm worthy? Fine, go on and underestimate me. Just wait, I told myself. All I had to do keep quiet.

"Hey! You just caught me off guard, that's all!" Again, Naruto was ignored. Kakashi was moving towards me again!

_"I knew he was mad that I kicked him! Any time would be nice, Naruto!" _Again, I backed up.

Suddenly, six clones jumped out of the water making, Kakashi look back slightly. _"Now's my chance…!" _I hurriedly made my way to Kakashi, trying hard not to make a sound. _"While he's distracted by the clones!"_ Crouching, I used my hands and arms to speed up. This way, he wouldn't be able to see me right behind him. As soon as Naruto was close enough, I tackled Kakashi. Well, I _would_ have if he hadn't move slightly towards the right. I crashed against the ground. My body rolled for awhile before it finally came to a stop.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Naruto asked. He helped me stand.

"Sakura, did you _really_ think you could tackle me? We're ninja. As ninja, childish attempts don't work," Kakashi said. I covered my mouth and spit something out in my hand. It wasn't grass or dirt.

"Actually, Kakashi-san..." I began. A bell dangled from the string, which was held by my thumb and finger. "I wasn't aiming for _you_." My smile was innocent, but my eyes must have appeared haughty. His eye went wide before focusing down. He saw that there was only one bell attached to him.

"Sakura, how did you get a bell?" one of the Naruto clones asked me. They had stopped their attack on Kakashi; even the one behind Kakashi let go of him to look at me.

"See, I knew Kakashi-san was expecting me to attack him, so I just waited for you to attack him instead," I started. "When I saw that he was surprised that it was a Naruto and not me that attacked him from behind, that's when I just went for it. He must have thought I was about to attack and that's why he moved to the side, but that's what I _wanted_ him to do. The bells were exposed, so I just grabbed one with my mouth since my hands were occupied at the moment," I continued as I wiped the saliva from the bell with the clothes I was wearing. "I don't know why, but I'm always my fastest when I use my arms and legs while running." I let a smirk cross my face. "It was actually team work!" I finished. "Thanks, Naruto!"

**SHAZAAM! That was straight up girl power!**

"Yeah…! Now, let's that other bell!" Naruto shouted. However, before he could make another move, a barrage of shuriken struck Kakashi down. My mouth dropped open. "What the hell? Are you out of your _mind_, Sasuke?"

"Not my fault he left his guard down," Sasuke said. He appeared out of nowhere.

_"Wait minute…! This isn't suppose to happen so quickly!" _I thought. _"Where's the part where Naruto get strung up by the rope?"_ Oh no…! I have changed the _Naruto_ script! _"Sasuke isn't supposed to be in this scene! He's not supposed to fight until the next episode."_ Well, I'm screwed... I hope Kakashi is alright because that was not a part of the show. _"WHAT IF I KILLED KAKASHI-SAN?"_


	3. Final Decision

_Kakashi's Final Decision! _

Holding my breath, I prayed that Kakashi's body would turn into a log. After what seemed like hours, his body did indeed transform into a log. I released the air in my lungs. I was more than a little relieved. I did not want to be known as the one who caused the death of an important character to the _Naruto_ show. "Damn it, Sasuke!" I yanked at my hair in frustration. "Now we don't know where he is!"

"Shut up," he retorted. "I thought he dropped his guard!"

"You know what? That's why you look like a _peacock_!" I hissed, irritated. He did not like the insult, but Naruto did snicker. _"I really should have seen this coming!"_ I thought with a sign. "We have to come up with a new plan!" I informed the two idiots, and yes, Sasuke has proven himself to be an idiot!

"I say we split up so it can be easier to find him," Sasuke suggested. Like a friggin' said… _idiot_!

"That won't-" Before I could finish, they had already disappeared. "-work." I breathed in deeply, and released it slowly. This was so that I wouldn't scream out and rant, which would be time-consuming. Why won't they listen to me? If they continue to act like this, will I be forced to use violence? Because I _really_ want to at the moment.

"Sakura... behind you," a voice whispered. I turned around making a 'huh' sound.

I came face to face with Kakashi's... face. I screamed out in fright. "Man, that's _not_ funny!" I yelled, finally catching my breath. "I got heart problems! Okay, well, I don't, but _still_!"

"Sorry; consider it payback for that kick to the chin," Kakashi said.

_"Man, I knew he was mad!"_ I thought, scratching my cheek.

"You know, I was quite surprised when you wanted to fight as well," Kakashi stated. "Most girls would have stood by and watched someone else fight for them."

"I'm not most girls," I said. "Now if you will excuse me... I have to go find my teammates so we can get that last bell." I walked off, leaving Kakashi standing there. However, out of nowhere leaves surrounded me making it impossible for me to see anything. When the leaves finally subsided it looked as if I was in a forest. _"Wasn't I just in a clearing? And it was sunny, too right?"_ I thought._ "Is this what they call an illusion jutsu—genjutsu?"_

"Sakura..." a strained voice got my attention. I turned around to see a shuriken infested Sasuke coming my way. "Sakura, h-help me… Please help me!"

"No," I answered, crossing my arms.

"What?"

"That's right! I said it! You deserve it for leaving me!"

"B-But-" Sasuke tried to stand. It was a pretty convincing image. I swallowed a bit. Blood was not cool to look at. I cleared my throat a bit.

"First of all, Sasuke wouldn't ask for help, let alone _my_ help, even if he _was_dying! Second, who do you think I am? Some dumb fan girl?" My back faced the image. "I have to go find the _real_ Sasuke and Naruto too!" Then I just walked away! I know what I did was wrong considering I knew what was going to happen. But I wanted Kakashi to take me seriously even though I'm in Sakura's body.

**Remember the name! It's Ishikari Mayu**

0-0

I continued wandering the area in search of either Sasuke or Naruto. They seemed to be great at hiding. It had been a little over twenty minutes since I walked away from that fake Sasuke. Hopefully, it _was_ a fake, and I didn't just leave him there to bleed and die. I mentally shrugged Kakashi wouldn't _seriously_ harm a person he was supposed to be looking out for. Especially Sasuke… He's like important or something. Sighing, my shoulders hunched. This was taking forever, and I was so hungry. "Seriously, what do I have to do to get a hold of one of them?" I thought, frowning at my misfortune.

I paid no mind to the ground in front of me, so I thought nothing of it when I stepped on what felt like a large rock. However, when that rock made a noise, I couldn't help but stop. Maybe it was just my imagination running away with me. Humming, I walked backwards. The rock made the noise again. So, I walked forward again, but this time it wasn't just a noise.

"Stop stepping on me!" it sounded like Sasuke's voice. Finally, I turned and looked down to what I had stepped on. Sure enough, Sasuke seemed to be stuck in the ground, up to his neck. I stared at him for a long time and he just stared back at me. Before I knew it, I was laughing. Obviously, Sasuke was yelling at me, but I couldn't stop. Calming down took some time, but I finally managed. I crawled over to the defenseless shinobi, seeing as how I was already on the ground from laughing so much, and grinned.

"Should I draw on your face?"

"Should I kill you in your sleep?"

"Touché, Sasuke," I held back a snicker. "How did you get there?" I asked even though I already knew.

"Are you going to do something or not?" Sasuke was clearly embarrassed about his little predicament. To spite him, I giggled some more before attempting to dig him out. It took awhile since I was the only one trying, but in the end, I pulled him from the ground.

"See? This is what happens when you don't listen to the smart one in the group!" I told him as I wagged my finger in his face. The ungrateful brat actually swatted my hand away.

"I've got to get a bell before lunch and that doesn't leave much time!" Sasuke said. He turned his back to me. Rolling my eyes, I stepped to his side.

"You're going to need my help," I stated.

"No, I won't," Sasuke said. He walked away. If I didn't have so much riding on this team actually becoming a team, I would have dropped him unconscious!

"Oh? Says the guy who's body was stuck in the ground a few minutes ago? How bold of you!" He flinched, and then stood stalk still. "Yeah, I thought so."

"That was a onetime thing!"

"Not if you refuse to acknowledge and accept that you are on a _team_!" I retorted. Slowly, he turned to look at me.

"Awhile ago, I touch the last bell… by myself. The next time, I'll get a bell _by myself_." Sasuke seemed adamant about it. "I can't believe you got a bell before me."

"Listen, Sasuke… The only reason that I could get the bell is because I used Naruto. He was the distraction while my objective was to get the bells." I sighed heavily. "You don't have to like us, but at least use us to your advantage. I hate saying it, but really, that's what we're here for. Why do you think they placed up in a squad in the first place? So that we can rely on each other's strengths and cover up the weaknesses!" I placed my hands on my hips. Sasuke's face had softened a bit. I guess my words are making sense to him. "Maybe we could try that again. But we need to find Naruto so our teamwork will be more complex and Kakashi-san won't know what hit him!"

"Hn," was his replied, making my eyebrow twitch. I said all that and _that's_ what he gives me? No more team speeches for him! "Fine, let's go find him." He surprised me by, not only continuing, but actually suggesting that we go find Naruto. "There's no way I'm going back to the academy and if teamwork is the only way I can pass then I guess I can cope with your idea."

_"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment…"_

"We better hurry," Sasuke said. Just then the bell rang! "Crap! We wasted too much time!" He took off, forcing me to try to keep up with him.

0-0

Here we were, the three of us, sitting by the stumps. Well, Sasuke and I were sitting. Naruto was _tied_ to one of the stumps. The silly blond tried to sneak lunch! All of our stomachs were growling... Well, mine was saying 'Feed me wench!' but the others didn't need to know that! Time had run out and Kakashi was standing in front of us with his arms cross; he looked disappointed. I don't know why, I got one of the bells!

**Shazaam! My girl power is off the charts!**

"_Uh-oh_… Are those your stomachs growling? That's too bad," Kakashi said. "Oh, except for Sakura. She's the only one who got one of the bells."

"Yeah… But Naruto did help me!" I protested. "I'm pretty sure that Sasuke would have helped us too, _if_ he wasn't such a bird brain!" I saw Sasuke glare at me. I only shrugged it off, uncaringly.

"Yes, I am well aware of your teamwork with Naruto," Kakashi stated. He moved over to a large, glossy black rock. "Did you guys look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They were all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village."

"That's it! That's it! That's it! Now I know!" Naruto suddenly yelled out; he was wiggling because he was still tied to the stump. "I've decided that I want my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die for nothing like a dog! I'm going to be a hero! A hero!"

"They are... a special kind of hero," Kakashi continued.

"What kinda heroes are they?" Naruto asked. "Come on, tell us!"

"They are all... K.I.A," Kakashi answered softly.

"That sounds real cool!" Naruto grinned.

"You really think so?" I asked. "Because K.I.A. means Killed In Action. They all died, Naruto." He got real quiet after realization dawned on him. Actually, everyone was silent.

"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here," Kakashi explained as he stared at the stone.

_"Now I kinda feel bad for treating Kakashi the way I have,"_ I thought as I adverted my eyes to the ground.

"Since Naruto and Sakura worked together, I'll give you another chance to get the last bell." The older ninja finally returned his attention back to us. "But this time I'm going to make it harder on you. You will have three hours to get the last bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but Naruto doesn't get any!" The blond growled almost as loud as his stomach. "It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself... and if any of you tried to feed him, that person would automatically fail. I make the rules and you will follow them. Got it?" Kakashi sure can be scary if he wants to! Man, I'm pretty sure I was sweating bullets by now.

0-0

_"This lunch isn't all that bad!"_ I thought with a grin. My stomach was going to be happy with me in a little bit. _"My dad can make a better bento, but this is not bad at all."_ Sasuke was eating, too, but Naruto was still tied to the stump. Kakashi could have untied him at least! Naruto's stomach started growling again, causing Sasuke and I to look his way.

"This is no big deal! I can go without eating for days!" Naruto yelled out. "This is no big deal!" And then his stomach started growling again, contradicting his words. "No problem..." he murmured, still trying to convince himself. I heard Sasuke sigh, so I turned to him. He held his hand out to Naruto. His bento was practically shoved in Naruto's face.

"Here," is what he said.

"Wow, Sasuke, I didn't think you were that kinda guy!" I praised him. "I'm so proud!"

"What?" Naruto asked. I could tell he was confused.

"Kakashi's gone… probably miles away by now. We need to get that bell as a team," Sasuke explained. "If Naruto's hungry he will be weak and ineffective, and that hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission." He looked at me, and then smirked. Uh... Why is he looking at me like that? "It's just like you said, Sakura. We need my strength as well as Naruto's. Your strategies could work in our favor, too. A balanced team."

"_Aww_! Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Whatever..." he replied. He then looked away. I picked up my bento and scooted closer to Naruto. I held some rice and meat near his mouth.

"Open wide, Naruto!"

"_Kay_!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Stop blushing! I already told you that I don't like you like that!" I scolded. The blond ninja pouted, but didn't protest. He opened his mouth further so that I could placed the food on his tongue.

**Why couldn't it be Gaara-kun?**

"Hurry up! He could come back any minute! Stop chatting and feed him!" Sasuke ordered.

"Stop chatting and feed him!" I mimicked in a high pitched voice. As if my voice wasn't already high pitched... "Shut up, bird boy!" He was only irritated by my comment. I stuck the food in Naruto's open mouth. But as soon as he said _'mmm mmm_ good!' a cloud of smoke caught our attention.

"YOU…!" Kakashi yelled. This only scared the hell out of me.

"_Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh_!" I screamed and I was gonna continue screaming until…"_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh_-" Sasuke clamped a hand over my mouth.

"You broke the rules!" Kakashi continued. The smoke was gone now, but he still had that intimidating presence. "I hope you're ready for the punishment!" He formed several hand signs. Thunder clouds started forming scaring me even more. How was he even _doing_ this? This wasn't any jutsu I had ever seen! "Any last words?"

"Ya see what had h-happen was-" I couldn't even finish my sentence.

"B-B-But you said..." Naruto began to say.

"Yes...?"

"You said that there were three of us! That's what you said and that's why... Sakura-chan and..." Naruto murmured. His blue eyes glanced at Sasuke.

"We're all on this squad and we're all in this together!" he said.

"Yeah…! That's true!" I exclaimed. "We are _one_!"

"The three of you are one? _That's_ your excuse?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, managing to sound more confident. I rapidly nodded my head. Kakashi chuckled, and then his eye closed.

"You… _pass_!" he said.

"Huh?" Naruto said dumbfounded.

"What?" I, too, tried to act taken aback. "Could you repeat that?"

"You... pass," Kakashi repeated slower.

_"I'm not that slow!"_ I thought, glaring at our sensei.

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded; the others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves," Kakashi explained. The thunder clouds had disappeared. Apparently, stranger things have happened because neither Naruto or Sasuke commented on that. "A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum. That's true, but... those who abandon their friends are worst than scum."

I smiled and patted myself on the back mentally. I saw that Naruto was about to cry and Sasuke just smirked. "He's _uh_... ya know... kinda cool." My teammate tried to hold himself back. I stared at him for a moment before my eyes went to Kakashi. I suppose I should start considering him sensei since he's not really a bad guy…

"The training is over! Everyone passes!" Kakashi continued. "Squad 7 starts their first mission tomorrow!" He even gave us the thumbs up.

"I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto cried out. Light tears ran down his face!

"I'm a ninja! It's your birthday! I'm a ninja!" I sang. I even jumped up and down a few times. "Dude, we're ninja now!"

"Yeah…! Isn't this great?" Naruto said.

"Dude, I'ma go to parties and people won't even know I'm there and they will be like 'Did you hear something?' and they'd look up and see me and I'm going to be on the ceiling! And they're gonna be like 'What the—a ninja, awesome!' I'm gonna be like 'Just throw the cake up here please!'" I said grinning. "Dude, I'm a ninja!"

"You… made no sense," Sasuke remarked. His eyebrows furrowed as if he was still trying to figure out the meaning behind my words.

"Yes!" I pointed, dramatically, in a random direction. "We must go ninja in the night!" And then the song began. There was no turning back now! "Like the shadow serpent… silence is my veil! Yes, and the precision of the cobra… ninja kill and leave no traaaaaaaaiiiilll! We know ancient stuff, and we have fun f-cking things up! For instants!" I twirled around several times. "In the confusion of a smoke bomb, I could remove your underwear and you wouldn't even notice!" Sasuke looked a bit disgusted by the statement. "I can jump roof—to roof—and get my friends free cable… It's _badass_!" I crossed my wrists in front of my face. "I used my ninja star… to pick the lock… and steal your car!" I moved my hands as if I had flung shuriken at invisible targets. "ROCK AND ROLL!" This shout seemed to startle them all. "Ninja of the night! Ninja of the night! Ninja of the _night_~!" After my incredible performance, there was silence. They were so in awe of my amazing voice that they were stunned speechless. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Where exactly did you learn that song?" Kakashi asked me.

"You have a horrible voice. Never again are you allowed to sing," Sasuke's lip twitched. Well, that deflated my ego considerably.

"But Sakura-chan… what's a car?" Naruto asked. I laughed nervously and scratched my cheek.

"_Um_... I don't have to tell you that!" I answered with a smile. _"Me and my big randomly singing mouth!" _I would beat myself up if I could.

"Never mind that..." Kakashi said, turning. It was obvious that he was disturbed. "Let' go home." He walked away, leading Sasuke and I to follow after him.

**Gaara-kun, I'm coming for you!**


	4. Dangerous Mission

_A Dangerous Mission!_

_Journey to the Land of Waves! _

"Sasuke... I'm at point B," Sasuke voice came in through the headset.

"Sakura here…! I'm at point C!" I said after Sasuke. For some reason, the third person did not respond as quickly as he should have.

"Naruto... I'm at point A!" Naruto finally said. Kakashi didn't let him slide.

"You're slow, Naruto!" He scolded. A sigh was heard. "Okay, squad 7—the target has moved!" This got my attention! "Follow it!" This target was beginning to annoy the crap out of me. We had been chasing it for hours! It was more than a little exhausting. When the three of us stopped running I noticed that Sasuke was behind me and Naruto was above me. The target was right in front of us. I could clearly see the red bow. "What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.

"5 meters," Naruto answered. "I'm ready, just give the signal."

"I'm ready, too," Sasuke said.

"Ready!" I muttered, still glaring at where our target was.

"NOW!" Kakashi instructed. All of us jumped towards the creature, but it was Naruto that ended up grabbing it. It was a brown cat with a red ribbon on his ear. I felt sorry for my teammate because he was having a pretty rough time with the rapid cat.

"I got him! I got him!" Naruto tried desperately to keep his hold on the cat. His face was getting scratched up. Sighing, I reached for the scruff of the cat's neck. As if by magic, the cat instantly stopped it's struggling. It wasn't really magic, of course. I just knew how to handle a scared feline. I held Tora in my arms, scratching it's forehead.

"It's going to be okay now!" I cooed. "Naruto won't hurt you anymore!"

"Me? Hurt that thing?" Naruto screamed as the cat cuddle close to my chest. "It's the devil incarnate!" I just laughed until Kakashi got my attention.

"Can you verify ribbon on its right ear?" he asked.

"Affirmative, we have a positive ID," Sasuke confirmed. He wasn't really paying attention when he answered.

"Right, lost pet, Tora, captured," Kakashi said. "Mission accomplished."

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS?" Naruto yelled into the microphone. I really wish I could stop the ringing in my ears, but to no avail. I was holding the target, after all. "I _HATE_ CATS!"

0-0

"My goodness… No wonder the cat ran away," I murmured, watching the owner of Tora practically squeeze the life out of the poor kitty. It was a terrifying scene to watch. Didn't the large woman know how to handle a cat? She should if she owned it for crying out loud. I found myself shaking my head. Honestly, ignorant people nowadays…

"Stupid cat…! That kitty _deserves_ to be squashed!" Naruto snickered at the cat's suffering.

"Now then…" The Hokage, Sarutobi, took our attention again. "For Team seven's next mission we have several available tasks." The first time I saw him, I realized how old he really was. He has more wrinkles than what the show let on. Still, he had that friendly grandfather face. "Among them are babysitting the chief councilor's three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes-"

_"Well, how long is the damn list?"_ I thought. I could feel my eye twitching. _"These _tasks _sound an awful lot like chores!"_ He looked as if he was about to continue!

"Noooo!" Naruto groaned in agony, which caused the Third Hokage stop and look at him. "I want to go on a _real_ mission!" he shouted with his arms like a X. "Something challenging and exciting! Not this little kid stuff! Come on, old man!"

"I knew this was coming," I whispered to Sasuke. He nodded his head in agreement.

"Though, he has a point," Sasuke replied. This logic of his was brilliant so I had to agree with him, too.

"How dare you?" Iruka yelled, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. "You're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple mission to develop your skills and improve yourself!"

"Are you serious? Babysitting is not a mission! It's just a stupid…!" Kakashi cut off Naruto's little rant by knocking him over the head.

"Would you put a lid on it?" he asked calmly.

"Naruto, it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given," the Hokage commented, gaining Naruto's attention. Well, I heard this all before so I'm not going to bother listening to him. Yeah, I know that's kinda rude but hey…! I won't tell if you won't!

Suddenly, Naruto started talking to us. I don't think he or any of us were paying attention to the Hokage right now, even Kakashi! We were all listening to Naruto's story... why? Heck, I guess we were all bored. "So then I had this ramen yesterday and I was thinking miso ramen today-"

"Silence!" the Hokage got our attention again. His voice startled me so much that I flinched and came to attention. He's not the leader for nothing, I presume.

"Oh, sorry," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks!" Naruto shouted. "I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" And then he turned around and pouted. So, he's not a little brat, huh? Excuse me if I disagree a little bit.

"I'm going to hear about this later..." Kakashi said, sighing heavily.

"Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat," the Hokage said. "And he wants a mission... so be it."

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"What...?" Sasuke said. So, it was Naruto's whining landed them the dangerous mission?

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-rank mission," the Hokage continued, and then took a long drag of his pipe. Oh, isn't he generous...! "You will be body guards on a journey."

"Really...?" Naruto said, turning his head. "Yes! Who? Are we guarding a princess or-"

"Calm down, Naruto!" I tapped his head twice to get him to chill. He was still on the ground, so it had been an easy action to do. "So what are we doing?"

"I will bring him in now," the Hokage said. "Send in our visitor!" We all looked towards the door to see who we were supposed to guard. The door slid open and in came an old man with a bottle of what I'm assuming was either sake or wine... though sake usually comes in something smaller. The man also wore glasses.

"What the—a bunch of snot-nosed kids?" His words came out in a slur. The man was clearly drunk. In my opinion, he was a bit rude, considering he was in the presence of the Third Hokage. The drunk made took a swing of the alcoholic beverage. His quick assessment of us made me want to punch him.

_"Excuse me? But do you see snot running down my nose?"_ I thought. I could feel my eyebrow twitched. _"Drunken old fool!"_ Naruto stood up and made a 'huh' sound.

"You, the little one with the idiotic look on your face." The man pointed a finger. "Do you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?" Naruto started laughing making me look at him like he was a moron.

"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his f-" Naruto stopped and looked as Sasuke and I walked closer to Naruto. It was almost like lines appeared telling each of our heights. In Sakura's body, I was a little shorter than Sasuke. Naruto was the shortest of us all. Realization dawned on him. Expectedly, the blond became angry at being insulted. "I'll demolish you!" Naruto yelled. Lucky for us, Kakashi grabbed him his collar before he could launch into an attack.

"You can't demolish our clients. It doesn't work that way," he said.

"I'm the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you guys to protect me until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

0-0

"Let's see what I'll need for this mission," I muttered to myself as I went through Sakura's stuff. Oh, medicine is good! I'll pack that! _"Now, what exactly happens on this mission?"_ I thought. Sitting on my knees, I stared up at the ceiling. I know that Haku and Zubuzu, or whatever his name is, comes along. I never really saw those episodes... Slowly I stood up, letting the feeling return to my legs. I didn't necessarily back a lot, but I had spent a fair amount of time on the floor to Sakura's room. Slinging the bag over my back, I moved to exit the room. I waved goodbye to Michiyo, Sakura's mom, before I left the house.

I raced to the giant gates only to realize that Sasuke was there. He was the first one, too. He must have heard my footsteps approaching because he looked up. For some unexplained reason, he appeared to be surprised by my arrival. "Sakura...?" I blinked in confusion. Seriously, there was no need to sound like that just because I had shown up this early.

"What? Don't tell me you are surprised," I said. "Man, if you're like this all the time then... you will eventually die of shock."

"Hn..." was his retort. I rolled my eyes, and then leaned against the wall. Kakashi wouldn't show up late to a mission, would he? Still, I needed all the energy I could take. It wasn't the long distance walking that made me uneasy. It was the dangers the team would encounter on this mission. Yes, my teachers back home praised me for my skills as a Martial Artist, and really, I shouldn't be calling myself that yet, but I had never really had to _use_ those skills before. Since Team 7 actually became a team, I've been practicing using chakra to enhance movement. However, again, there wasn't really anyone to practice on. I vowed to help Naruto better himself. He is the main character, and boy does he need it, but I can't really teach a person when I'm lacking myself. So I resolved to focus on getting Sakura's body in tiptop shape before attempting to give Naruto the help I want to. "...Sakura...?"

"Yeah…?" I mumbled, not bothering to open my eyes.

"Why did you... change your appearance?" Sasuke asked. There was a moment's pause before I opened my eyes. I stared at him, eyebrow raised. He shifted awkwardly, and then looked away. "And… yourself for that matter? Why did you change?" Finally, I found my voice.

"Well, Sasuke, my hair doesn't necessarily blend well with the environment, so I thought it was best to give it a dark color. I didn't want to get killed on my first dangerous mission just because I look like a flashlight in the dark," I answered. "As for your second question, I didn't really like the way I looked at life. I want to be a ninja. I have chosen this life, and so it was time to put aside childish values and focus on my future career."

"Is that your reason...?" Sasuke asked.

"What? You thought I changed to impress _you_?" I suddenly felt mischievous. "You really need to get over yourself!"

"_Hn_... That's not what I thought!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" My grin stretched so much that it was beginning to hurt. "You were really thinking 'If she gets any cuter... how am I supposed to impress her?' weren't you?" Sasuke turned his face from me and said.

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, you know you want me~!"

"Hey! Are you ready for the mission?" Naruto's loud voice came into the conversation. I looked to see him jogging towards us. He waved at me with a smile. I did the same for him.

"Oh, yeah!" I exclaimed, giving a victory sign. "Bring it on!"

"I'm glad to see that you're so enthusiastic about this mission," Kakashi's voice made me turn to where it came from. I wonder how long it is going to take me to figure out how to pop in and out of places like he does. The feat seemed awesome. Our sensei was standing next to the bridge builder, Tazuna. Once Kakashi verified a few things with us, we headed out.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted once everyone had made it past the gates. "This is the first time I've left the village! I'm a traveler now!"

"Am I supposed to trust this brat with my life?" Tazuna asked. He sounded uneasy about the whole thing. He rudely pointed to Naruto. He was the brat in the bridge builder's opinion. "This kid's a joke!"

"He's with me and I'm a jounin so you don't need to worry," Kakashi chuckled lightly. I'm surprised Naruto didn't lash out at the bridge builder.

"Hey! Never insult a ninja!" Naruto yelled pointing; so much for being surprised. "It's a big mistake! And I am one of the greatest ninja ever. Someday, I'll be the greatest Hokage and then you will have to look up to me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!"

_"I think he meant loudest ninja,"_ I thought, barely containing my sigh.

"Kage are powerful and wise. _You_ are puny and brainless," bridge builder remarked. "The day you become Hokage is the day I sprout wings and fly."

"Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage… No matter what it takes!" Naruto yelled. "And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!"

"I wouldn't acknowledge you even if you do become Hokage... ten times over!" bridge builder said; that was kinda harsh! Naruto started yelling again and it looked like he was about to attack but Kakashi held on to him again.

"This is going to be a _long_ mission," I sighed out.

0-0

"Hey… Kakashi-sensei?" I said.

"Yes...?" he asked.

"What does a Hokage do exactly?" I asked. We had been walking for hours now, and I was bored. No one had been speaking, not even Naruto. And to rely on Uchiha Sasuke for a conversation was like waiting for a mountain to crumble. It just wasn't going to happen. My question to Kakashi would hopefully make him talk, and give me something to think about.

"Hokage rule over thousands of ninja," Kakashi answered. He did not disappoint.

"Seriously...?" I murmured. "Naruto ruling over thousands of ninja? I wonder what that would be like." Suddenly, a visual of said teammate being Hokage came to mind. He demanded that everyone eat at least four bowls of Ramen every day. He would also order that each ninja must wear an orange jumpsuit. I couldn't contain the giggles that spilled out of my mouth. I mean, to imagine Kakashi and Sasuke wearing an orange jumpsuit was too much to keep inside!

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked. His voice made me turn towards him. I think my face cracked from trying to keep it straight because he looked at me with this weird, irritated expression. I could no longer hold back. I exploded into laughter while point a finger at him. My other arm wrapped around my belly because my stomach was beginning to hurt. "Okay, forget I asked..."

Wiping a tear away, I finally calmed down. I freaked out everyone as in the group as well. Yeah, I'm just that talented. "Well, anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C-rank mission," Kakashi put his hand on my head. "So you can relax."

**Relax? I want to go into a heated battle already!**

Another hour passed, and the silence had become bothersome once again. The group had crossed a bridge a few minutes ago. I noticed we had walked by a puddle of water. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because there had been no other puddles in sight. Suspicious, suspicious…! "Kakashi-sensei?" I called out to him.

"Yes, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Has it rained recently?" I asked.

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?" Kakashi asked.

"It's just… I noticed awhile back that there was a puddle," I whispered. "It was a bit strange to see one, but not any others."

"_Hm_... You're quite the observer, Sakura," he praised as he patted my head.

"Hey! I'm not a dog!" I said irritated. Suddenly, I saw something coming at me and Kakashi so I ran! I thought he would follow me but he didn't! It was a metal rope and it wrapped around his body. "Kakashi-sensei…!" I shouted. I saw that these two guys were the ones with the metal rope. After an order was given, the two ninja pulled on the pulled, tearing Kakashi apart.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out in disbelief, drawing my attention to him. The two had run over to him and were now behind him, planning to strike. It was too late to try to warn him. For some reason, he appeared frozen. The ninja flung their metal things in the air preparing on killing Naruto, but Sasuke pinned the things to a tree. He had successfully trapped them. One of them shouted that he couldn't get loose. Sasuke then kicked the two. However, one of them did get loose and headed straight for Tazuna. I ran in front of the old man.

"Stay behind me!" I instructed. My legs trembled, but I pushed myself to ignore the quickening of my heart. As soon as the ninja was close enough, my foot shot out in an axe kick.

"Sakura...!" I heard Sasuke say the name as I jumped up to the airborne ninja. Flipping once in mid air, I used the back of my foot to kick the ninja down again.

"SHAZAAM!" I shouted when my heel collided with the top of his head. _"I love these great skills combined with Sakura's speed and agility_!" I landed right where I had been, in front Tazuna. Kakashi, luckily, decided to make his appearance. He had grabbed the ninja before they could attack again.

"Sakura...?" Sasuke is the one that made me realize how much I was panting. My legs were still trembling, too. I think I had just experienced an adrenaline rush. "What—are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. I wiped sweat from my forehead. "Give me a second, and this body will calm down, okay." I turned my eyes to Kakashi. "And where were you?"

"Busy," he answered. That… smartass remark was cool. I guess the important thing was that he was alive.

"He used the replacement jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Kakashi said. Still, he had a hold on the ninja. "I just didn't think you freeze up like that." He started walking towards me and Sasuke. "Good job, Sasuke. It was very smooth; you, too, Sakura."

"Damn right," I smirked.

"Hey!" Sasuke got Naruto's attention. "You're not hurt are you... scaredy cat?"

"SASUKE-" Naruto was interrupted.

"Naruto, stand still... these ninja had poison in their claws," Kakashi stated. "We need to take out the poison as soon as possible. Don't move around; that spreads it." Naruto... I am truly shocked! When does he get all cool and tough? That's what I wanna see!

"By the way, mister Tazuna..." Kakashi said.

"Uh... Yeah, what?" bridge builder said.

"We need to talk," he answered. Kakashi then tied the two ninja to a nearby tree; we all stood in front of them. I had an angry look on my face. To give off an intimidating aura and to show my displeasure. All that practice with myself, and only a simple kick was shown? I'm disappointed in myself! Then again, it was a great feat to do such a thing. Plus, I _had_ been scared. Next time, I told myself. There was always next time. "They are chuunin from the Hidden Mist village," Kakashi informed us, causing me to pay attention again. "Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of the ninja asked.

"Sakura... would you like to explain?" Kakashi asked, making everyone's attention turn to me. I could feel myself blush at the sudden attention.

"Thanks for putting me on the spot, Kakashi-sensei!" I bit out. He only chuckled. I then cleared my throat. "Earlier, before the attack, I saw this puddle. It was only one puddle. Plus, it hasn't rained recently. What an oddity, right?" I smirked at the two enemy ninja. "Your little trap couldn't fool me or Kakashi-sensei."

"Very good explanation, Sakura," he praised.

"Thank you!" I responded with a huge grin.

"How could she notice that, but not me...?" I heard Sasuke ask himself.

"That's simple, Sasuke," I gained his attention. "It's because I got mad skillz, yo!" The dark-haired shinobi rolled his eyes.

"In that case, why did you let the genin do the fighting?" Tazuna asked.

"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was," I saw Kakashi give Tazuna a sideward glance. "And what they were after..."

"What are you getting at?"

"This... I wanted to know if they were attacking us; ninja fighting ninja or if they were after you, the master bridge builder," Kakashi said. "When you put in your request you ask for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say ninja were hunting you down. If we knew this it would have been a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was to simply get you to your destination and protect you were you finish the bridge. If we knew this we would have changed it and charged it accordingly. You must have your reasons but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

"This might be too advanced for genin like us. I mean, Naruto completely froze when we were attacked," I muttered, looking at my teammate. He looked ashamed. Perhaps I shouldn't have pointed it out? "We need to get that poison out of him fast before it spreads any further."

Our sensei sighed heavily. "Naruto's hand could become a problem... Oh well, I guess we have to return to the village," Kakashi said.

_"But I wanted to continue so badly!"_ I thought. Naruto suddenly took out a kunai and _stabbed_ himself in his already wounded hand making everyone gasp. "GASP!" I exclaimed, making Sasuke look at me strangely before turning his attention back to Naruto.

"Why am I so different? Why am I always so—_argh_!" he growled out.

"Naruto, please calm down!" I said. "You really don't have to do that!"

"Yes, I do, Sakura-chan! I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours—_anything_ to get stronger and reach my dream," Naruto exclaimed. I smiled lightly at his words. This was it. This was the Naruto I had grown fond of. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I won't lose to Sasuke! Upon this wound I make this pledge. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife. Real ninja never give up and neither will I! Don't you guys worry about me, I'll be fine! So let's go!" he finally finished.

"Naruto, it was really cool how you got the poison out and all but..." I started.

"But if you lose anymore blood... you're going to die!" Kakashi finished. It got real quiet after he said that; Naruto had frozen on the spot. He suddenly turned blue in the face and he was sweating bullets.

"_Aaaaaaah_!"

"Really good idea to stop the blood now!" Kakashi said in a song like voice.

"No! No! No! I'm too young for it to end like this! No! No! No!" Naruto shouted going into panic mode.

"Show me your hand," Kakashi sighed out.

"Naruto, calm down! It is not all that!" I shouted.

"No! No! No!" Naruto yells continued. I rolled my eyes, and then smirked. It will probably get better from here on out. And by better, I mean more dangerous. I hope I'll be okay. "_Um... um_... you have a serious look on your face! Your scary me! Am I going to be okay?"

"_Uh_... yeah, you will be fine," Kakashi said, wrapping up Naruto's hand. Why do I get the feeling Kakashi is hiding something from him?

"So, are we continuing the mission, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked.

"Yes, we are!" Kakashi said, standing at full height.

"Alright…!" I shot a fist to the air. I turned to the quietest one on Team 7. "Isn't this great, Sasuke? Now I can show you some more of my skills!"

"Whatever..." Sasuke grumbled looking away.

"Man, you _are_ a walking popsicle!" I stated, patting his back rather harshly.

"Stop that!" Sasuke almost hissed.


	5. Assassin

I am... bored! Ya wanna know why? Well, it's because all of us were in a boat including the bridge builder. The motor was turned off and it was absolutely silent. IT WAS DRIVING ME INSANE! "Fish don't fry in the kitchen! Beans don't burn on the grill!" I sang. "Took a whole lot of trying... just to get up that hill. Now we're up in the big leagues... getting our turn at bat! As long as we live, it's you and me baby. There ain't nothing wrong with that!"

"Sakura!" Kakashi voice got my attention. "You do realize we are trying to be quiet, right?" I clicked my tongue. How could I _forget_?

"Sorry, it's just... I'm really bored and you know I like to sing randomly," I said.

"We should be able to see the bridge soon," the person operating the boat said. "If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be at the Wave country." Yeah, I think I see it! It was bigger than I expected and it's not even completed.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto suddenly shouted.

"Quiet! I told you no noise! Why do you think we're traveling like this, huh?" boat person said... yeah, I really didn't know his name; or maybe I just didn't pay attention when he mentioned it. "Cutting off the engine and rowing, moving through the dense fog... so they don't see us!" Naruto covered his mouth and had a weird look on his face. They...? Who are they...?

"Tazuna-san...? Before we reach the shore, I have to ask you something," Kakashi said in a calm voice.

_"I wonder what he's talking about,"_ I thought, paying attention to Kakashi.

"The men that were after you, I need to know why," he finished. Oh that, I think I already know what he's talking about. So, I really don't _have_to listen to their conversation. But what should I do in the mean time?

_"OH! I can sing silently!"_ I thought, grinning. _"Now what should I sing?" _

_The Assassin of the Mist! _

"_They got the bad guys on the run. They never stop until the gets done_. _Cuz when the world is losing all control! Teen Titans!_ _One, two, three, four, GO! TEEN TITANS!"_

"SAKURA!" I flinched, completely startled by the sudden shout. I placed a hand over my chest and looked towards the offender. It was Sasuke, the jerk. He looked quite angry. Everyone else was out of the boat, apparently waiting for me to do the same. "Quit humming to yourself and get out of the boat!"

"Up yours, Sasuke!" I grumbled, climbing out of the boat. "I already told you guys that you shouldn't talk to me while I'm in a daze!" Once I got out of the boat, I looked around, examining the foreign surroundings. The fog seemed to have let up considerable.

"Okay, take me to my home and I mean get me there in one piece!" Tazuna said.

"Right," Kakashi said and then we all began to walk in a certain direction.

_"Since the first ninja that they sent were chuunin then... they're likely to send someone stronger this time,"_ I thought, walking behind Naruto and Sasuke. _"I should keep my guard up just in case."_ Suddenly, Naruto ran ahead of us and started looking around making all of us stop in our tracks. He took out a kunai and threw it yelling something about 'Over there!' Now what exactly did he see? Everyone tensed when he did it. A couple of seconds went by and then Naruto stood up straight.

"It was just a mouse," he stated, making my eye twitch.

"Mouse…? Naruto, don't do that if you aren't completely sure!" I yelled.

"Naruto, those are kunai... they're dangerous!" Kakashi scolded.

"HEY, YOU DWARF! DON'T SCARE US!" bridge builder yelled.

"I see someone hiding over there!" Naruto said. "No, is he over there? _There_!" Naruto threw another kunai.

"Naruto, stop that!" I yelled. His frantic manner was beginning to become annoying.

"But I really did sense someone," Naruto whined.

"You better not be lying!" I yelled. I saw Kakashi go through the bushes that Naruto had thrown his kunai into. I went by Kakashi to see what he was looking at and saw a white bunny, the kunai knife lodged over its head; it looked as if the poor bunny fainted from shock!

I knocked Naruto upside the head in anger! "_Ah_... Sakura-chan! What was that for?"

"Look what you did, idiot!" I yelled, pointing at the bunny. Naruto looked to where I was pointing, and then put on a guilty look on his face.

"A rabbit!" he said going over to the poor animal; he picked it up and held it close to his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, little rabbit! I'm so sorry!"

"All this fuss over a rodent..." bridge builder said.

"Put the rabbit down, Naruto!" I said. "Release the poor thing!"

"Look out!" Kakashi called to us; I quickly followed his instructions and dived to the ground. When I got up, I saw everyone else had also gotten up. I then saw a man standing on some kinda giant weapon that was lodged into a tree... he looked familiar. My eyes widen in shock as I realized who this was.

_"Zabuza...!"_ I thought. _"He's a lot creepier in person."_

"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Mist village," Kakashi pointed out, walking towards the tree. "You're in the way. Get back." He successfully prevented Naruto from making a foolish mistake, for he was about to charge at Zabuza.

"But why...?" Naruto asked.

"He is not like those other ninja," Kakashi answered. "He's in a whole other league."

_"Scaring me now!"_ I thought nervously. I mean sure, I kicked a jounin but, I'm pretty sure that Kakashi let me! And with this guy... that ain't happening.

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi, the Sharingan user," Zabuza said. I noticed that Sasuke looked at Kakashi in surprise. Oh that's right. Sasuke's clan is the only one who possessed the Sharingan.

"I'm sorry but, you have to let me take the old geezer," Zabuza said.

"Everyone…! Form the swastika formation!" Kakashi ordered. "Protect Tazuna-san and do not join the battle. I taught you teamwork, now it's time to use it!" He lifted his forehead protector.

_"He's going to reveal his left eye!"_ I thought as I watched Kakashi's eye open.

"I'm ready!" he said.

"Cool..." was the only thing I could mutter.

"I'm honored that I can see the Sharingan that I've heard about," Zabuza said.

"You guys have been saying Sharingan, but what is it?" Naruto asked.

"Sharingan... The eye creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates," Sasuke explained. "The user of this visual jutsu or doujutsu can instantly see and comprehend any genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and cancel their effects. Sharingan is one of the types of eyes that those doujutsu users possess. But that's the only ability the Sharingan possesses."

"You got it right boy," Zabuza said. "But you only scratched the surface. The Sharingan can analyze the opponents' technique and then copy it to the smallest detail." I noticed that it suddenly got really foggy; I could hardly see through it.

_"It's so thick I might cut it!"_ I thought.

"When I was in the Hidden Mist village's assassination squad... your information was listed in the bingo book I carried asking for your capture," Zabuza said.

_"Well, isn't he studious?" _I thought sarcastically. _"Why do all the bad guys feel the need to talk before they kill somebody?"_

"It also noted this... The man who copied more than 1000 techniques, Kakashi the copy ninja," Zabuza continued.

"WOW!" Naruto said and Sasuke just glared... well, at least I think he glared. I could hardly see his face!

"Let's cut the chit-chat here," Zabuza said, gaining my attention. Haha... Let's not! Please keep talking. I am not ready for this! "I have to kill that geezer right away." That was our cue to jump in front of the bridge builder; Naruto on one side, me on the other and Sasuke in front; we all had a kunai knife in front of us. "But, Kakashi, it seems I have to defeat you first." Zabuza suddenly disappeared, giant weapon and all! I saw him reappear in the water... actually he was standing on the water.

_"Wait a minute... I don't remember water being there!"_ I thought. _"CHEATER!"_ Sorry, I have a habit of shouting that out; I'm just glad I didn't say that out loud!

"He's there!" Naruto said.

"And those things on his arms are hideous!" I whispered mostly to myself but Sasuke somehow managed to hear me.

"Sakura...! This is no time for that!" he yelled/ hissed.

"What? They _are_!" I retorted softly. "And they don't match either. Spots and strips? Where are the fashion police when you need 'em!" All of a sudden, Zabuza disappeared from my sight. _"Oh crap! He's come to get me for my rude remark!"_ I thought. _"I'll never do it again! Just please don't kill me!"_

"He disappeared!" Naruto said as Kakashi walked in front of us.

"K-Kakashi-sensei...?" Oh man. My voice cracked! I am seriously scared, aren't I?

"He'll try to eliminate me first, but..." Kakashi said.

"But...?" I said.

"Momochi Zabuza, he was in the Hidden Village ANBU, and was known for his 'silent killing' techniques," Kakashi continued.

"S-Silent...? Naruto asked.

"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant without sound or warning of any kind," Kakashi explained. "It's so fast that you pass from this life without realizing what's happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard."

_"Easy for him to say!"_ I thought frowning.

"Well, if we fail we only lose our lives," Kakashi said.

"The mist is getting thicker and thicker!" Naruto stated.

"The land of waves is surrounded by ocean, the swirling mist is ever present," bridge builder said.

"Oh-no! It's so bad that I can't see Kakashi-sensei anymore!" I said.

"What?" Sasuke said.

"Oh-no! It's so bad that I can't see Kakashi-sensei anymore!" I repeated.

"I heard you the first time!" Sasuke said.

"I thought you were asking!" I retorted. Clearly, I was freaking out about this situation.

"Quiet you two!" bridge builder said.

"Eight points," Zabuza's creepy voice filled my ears. "The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart," he continued. _Ooooh_, he was just naming points that are left opened to attack! Not how many point we were worth! I better not be only worth _eight_ points! Wait a minute...

**WE BOUT TA DIE, IDIOT!**

"Now, which vital organ do you want to be struck at?" Zabuza asked.

"_Uh_... I don't suppose none of them is an answer?" I asked.

"NO!"

"S-S-Sorry I asked!" I stuttered. Suddenly I could feel a strong wind picking up blowing away the fog. I saw Kakashi again... _"I'm so glad!"_

I saw Sasuke grab his kunai with both hands and was slowly pointing the tip towards his stomach. "Sasuke! What the hell are you doing?" I yelled, smacking him upside the head. "Are you that insane?"

"Sasuke! Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life," Kakashi said. "I won't let anyone on my team die."

"See? We have nothing to worry about! So don't go suicidal on us!" I said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zabuza said... and he sounded close; right behind me! "It's over!"

Instinctively, I jumped out of the way when I saw Kakashi move towards us. When I looked back I saw that Kakashi had stabbed a kunai knife into Zabuza! But, it wasn't blood pouring from him... it was water. _"Water clone?"_ I thought in alarm as another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto shouted but it was too late, before Kakashi even fully turned around Zabuza cut him in half.

_**Ahhh**_**! My heart! My beating heart has stopped!**

But Kakashi's body soon turned into water! Yes, that means Kakashi is still alive and kicking. Zabuza looked surprised when he realized that it was just the water clone jutsu. I saw Kakashi hold a kunai knife at Zabuza's throat. "Don't move," he said. "This is the end!"

_"Wow... he really is cool!"_ I thought. _"He copied Zabuza's technique even in fog as thick as this!" _

0-0


	6. His Oath, His Sharingan

_The Oath of Pain_

_and_

_Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior _

We all watched, stunned that Kakashi had gotten Zabuza off guard like that. "This is the end," Kakashi said, snapping me out of my stupor.

"WOW!" Naruto shouted. Suddenly Zabuza started laughing and then he got louder. I just knew Zabuza wouldn't lie down and beg...!

"Is this the end?" Zabuza asked. "You really don't get it do you? You're technique is nothing but an imitation... I'll never be defeated by a copycat ninja like you." He chuckled as if it had been some sort of inside joke. "But you're pretty good. I see you copied my water clone technique when you said, 'I won't let anyone on my team die.' By making your clone speak as if it was the real one, you diverted my attention to the clone... while the real one used the Mist Concealment technique to hide and observe my movements. However..." Suddenly, another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi! "I'm not that easy to fool." The Zabuza in front of Kakashi turned into water.

"That one's a fake, too!" Naruto shouted as Zabuza swung his giant weapon at Kakashi. Luckily, he ducked but Zabuza wasn't through yet! He planted his weapon in the ground and delivered a hard kick to Kakashi making him fly back! Zabuza took his giant weapon out of the ground and began running towards where he kicked our sensei, but he suddenly stopped short.

"Makibishi Spikes?" I heard him say. "How idiotic," he said as he jumped up and disappeared and Kakashi fell into the water.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"His hand-to-hand combat skill is superb, too," Sasuke said, almost making me turn to him. Kakashi finally surfaced, his hair was all wet and in his face. He looked real-

_"NO! NO! NO! I can't think this like that!" _I thought, shaking my head. _"I'm too young!"_ Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and started various hand signs while calling him an idiot. Talk about rude…!

"Water Prison Jutsu!" he said. Kakashi became entrapped in some sort of giant water orb! Zabuza had one hand inside the water prison. "You fell for it," he laughed. "This is a special prison that you can't escape from. You give me a hard time when you're moving."

"Ah! YOU CHEATER!" I yelled out, making Zabuza look directly at me. "_Uh-oh_...!"

"I'll take care of you later," he said. His eyes were on me the entire time. Premature death does not sound like a fun time. "But first, I think I'll get rid of your little brats."

_"Man, me and my big mouth!"_ I thought, slapping my swelling forehead. Sasuke stood in front of me with a kunai in hand.

"Sakura... you really need to stop using that big mouth of yours!" he said.

"Shut up! I know that already!" I said.

"Water clone jutsu!" Zabuza said. Water... The water was forming into the shape of Zabuza and I think it started laughing! "The three of you have forehead protectors on as if you think you're ninja. But ninja refers to someone who has gone through numerous life and death situations; in other words, you can call yourself a ninja when you appear in my bingo book."

_"I am getting tired of his little book! I am a ninja!"_ I thought frowning. Ha! Not really! _"I sang the 'Ninja of the Night' song and everything! I'm straight up ninja material!"_

"You three aren't ninja," Zabuza, the clone, said putting his hand up to his chest; it became a lot more foggy as he spoke. It became so bad that I couldn't see the enemy anymore. Suddenly, I could see Naruto getting kicked back and off went his headband! Zabuza stepped on it.

"Naruto!" I shouted.

"You're just a bunch of kids," Zabuza finished.

"Listen! Get the bridge builder and run!" Kakashi called to us. "You can't win this fight! He's using all of his power to keep me in this prison so he can only fight you with his water clone and the clone cannot go far from the real body. So run!"

_"But if we're left alone... he will kill Kakashi and then we would be..." _I thought. _"Zabuza will eventually kill us after he's finished with Kakashi... in the end... it doesn't even matter."_

"We have to do it!" Sasuke suddenly said and then started running towards Zabuza. He threw shuriken at him. However, Zabuza just deflected them aside with his weapon, but Sasuke wasn't through yet. He jumped in the air and he was descending with a kunai in hand; Sasuke was trying to stab Zabuza! The creepy man, though, looked up. His hand gripped my teammate's throat. Zabuza then threw Sasuke a couple a feet! I would have laughed at the sad attempt—I could have told him that that wouldn't work, after all—but I had felt a compelling urge to call his name.

_"Weird..." _I thought watching Sasuke stand. _"OH-NO! I'M BECOMING SAKURA! NOOO! I'm going to start saying 'Sasuke-kun!' NOOO!"_

"He got Sasuke!" Naruto shouted the obvious. The clone appeared in front of him, causing my eyes to widen.

"Naruto! Get away from him!" I shouted. Naruto put his hand on the ground in an attempt to escape. But that was the hand he had stabbed earlier! _"That's why he's looking at it with a scowl on his face,"_ I thought.

Naruto stood up slowly and faced Zabuza. And suddenly, he starts charging at Zabuza with a loud battle cry! "Naruto! NO!" Kakashi yelled. Naruto was kicked back as soon as he reached his target!

"Naruto! Are you okay?" I asked, but then I noticed something... Naruto had his headband in his hand! _"His aim was for the headband? He's so cool." _Naruto struggled to stand all the while groaning in pain.

"Hey you, the freak with no eye brows..." Naruto said. I had to suppress a snicker. "Put this in your bingo book... the ninja who will become Hokage of the Leaf village one day..." Naruto stood up straight and put on his head band. "He never backs down and his name is... Uzumaki Naruto!" Stuff like this... makes me wanna respect Naruto even more! "Sasuke, lend me your ear for a sec!"

"What do you want?" Sasuke said, making me almost jump; I had forgotten he was standing right next to me!

"I have a plan!"

"I can't believe you want to work as a team," Sasuke said.

"Naruto, you're making me smile!" I said softly.

"Alright guys... let's go wild!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, what can I do?" I asked quietly.

"You stay and protect the bridge builder!" Naruto said; I nodded in understanding.

_"I really wanted to get in the action but... I guess its okay," _I thought.

I walked in front of Tazuna with a kunai knife in hand. "Stay behind me, now!" I told him. It became quiet as we all waited for Naruto's attack. They didn't speak but I already knew the plan... by heart!

"Okay, ready... let's take this guy down!" Naruto said, wiping off the blood running down his chin.

"Big words for such a little man!" Zabuza, the clone laughed. "You think you have a chance at victory?"

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?' Kakashi yelled at us. "I told you to run away! The outcome of this battle was decided when I got caught! Our mission was to protect the bridge builder. Did you forget that?"

"Old man..." Naruto said turning towards the Tazuna.

"Don't worry, I caused all of this in the first place," he said. "I won't say that I want to survive no matter what. Sorry, everyone. Fight as much as you want."

"That's how it is," Sasuke said.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked.

"Go wild!" I chirped. What? I wanted to say something, too! Zabuza started laughing louder and louder. "You know, I'm really starting to get sick of that laugh!"

"You sure don't learn, do you?" Zabuza asked. "Still pretending to be ninja?"

"Uh-oh... long speech!" I said rolling my eyes. _"Bad guys just love to hear themselves talk," _I thought, frowning.

"When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood," Zabuza continued; I see he chose to ignore what I said. Okay then, I'll just say it louder.

"_Who_ gives a shit?" I shouted. All eyes were on me. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but at this point, I _don't_ care! You're our enemy! Do you really think we want to hear your back story? NO! I don't! So don't even try, and just get on with the attacking!" After my little rant, all were silent. I snorted a bit. It wasn't really that shocking that I had interrupted.

"Sakura… you moron," I heard Sasuke muttered. Before I could give the universal sign for piss off, Zabuza actually attacked. Yikes—sorry, Sasuke. The man elbowed him, sending him flying. He then elbowed him in the gut making Sasuke spit up blood! Zabuza's feet grind against his chest. I watch this all happen with wide eyes. I… I knew what was going to happen, but for some reason I felt extremely panicked.

"Die!" Zabuza shouted.

"Damn!" Naruto yelled, putting up a hand sign. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Then a lot of Naruto clones appeared, surrounding Zabuza. He grabbed the hilt of his weapon and looked at all the clones. Each clone had a kunai in their hands. Sasuke had a chance to get away now that Zabuza's attention was diverted and he took it as the Naruto clones jumped on Zabuza, completely covering up his body. It was only a moment of relief because the clones went flying! "His skills are too advanced! There's no way they could win!" Tazuna exclaimed from behind me. One by one, the clones started disappearing in clouds of smoke.

I was really looking for the real Naruto; I spotted him digging into his backpack. He threw something at Sasuke, which he caught. He turned around once and revealed the... "Demon Wind Shuriken!" Sasuke said... yeah that! "Windmill of Shadows!" We all watched in amazement, it looked so much cooler up close and personal! Sasuke decided not to listen to Zabuza's warning of that not working on him. Instead, he jumped up and threw the giant shuriken.

**He used... his ninja star... to pick the locks and steal your car!**

_"ROCK N' ROLL!"_ I thought practically grinning. _"Okay! Okay! Focus!"_ Oh, but the shuriken went right past the fake and headed straight for the real one! Zabuza caught it, though... Guess he didn't see the second one coming his way! "_HA_! Can't catch that, ya cheater!" Zabuza suddenly jumped up at the last second. "Then again... he could dodge it..."

Behind him I saw the giant shuriken transform into Naruto! He held a kunai knife in his hand! "This is the spot!" Naruto shouted, throwing the kunai! It head straight for Zabuza! Zabuza let go of the orb that was holding Kakashi in fear of getting hit by the kunai. That's when the prison went bye-bye, but Zabuza didn't notice because he was about to attack Naruto with the giant shuriken!

"I'll destroy you!" Zabuza growled.

Though, Kakashi stopped the spinning of the shuriken with his fist! I saw blood trail down his finger as Naruto fell into the water. "Naruto, your plan was impressive," Kakashi said and I had to agree. "You have all sure grown." Naruto laughed and had a goofy grin on his face. He then went into detail about his plan.

"It was just luck," Sasuke said.

"It was _luck_?" bridge builder yelled.

"Luck my foot!" I said. "Your teamwork was flawless! I'm very proud of you guys." Sasuke smirked and Naruto still had that goofy grin. _"Though… I wasn't much help..."_ I thought, frowning slightly.

"I just got distracted and released the jutsu." But Kakashi corrected him.

"No...You were _forced_ to release it. I'd like to tell you that... I don't fall for the same jutsu twice," Kakashi said. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Sakura! Don't let your guard down!" Sasuke said; I nodded and stood in front of the bridge builder, Sasuke did the same. I saw that Kakashi had flung the giant shuriken away from Zabuza. Zabuza leapt back and so did Kakashi in opposite directions. Zabuza was doing a huge range of seals and Kakashi's Sharingan glowed; he copied them exactly and at the same time! The two powerful ninja went head to head. They both seemed on the same level, though. It was a battle that I had seen maybe three times before. It hadn't been a favorite, that's why. Up close, feeling the power, though, is a whole different story. I can't believe how cool it was. They, Kakashi and Zabuza, were so strong. It was no wonder, many people still liked him. However, in the end, it was Kakashi who came out the winner of their battle.

"Can you... see into... the f-future?" Zabuza asked. Really, you're blaming something that's implausible on your loss? Zabuza was really such a sore loser.

"Yes... this is your last battle ever," Kakashi answered. It was a lie. I'm pretty sure this guy cannot see in the freaking future. If he could, why didn't he know we got a liar as a client? Point proven by me!

However, before Kakashi could do anything, two acupuncture needles came out of nowhere and struck Zabuza in the neck. His eyes went wide, and then his body shook all over. He crumbled to the ground. "You're right. This was his last battle..." A voice caused all heads to turn. I stared at him intensely, focusing on the engraving on the mask. Kakashi jumped down from the tree to land beside Zabuza. He checked for a pulse. He then looked at the masked shinobi. In response, a bow was given. "Thank you very much. I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza," he said. Naruto had just come out of the water and was now looking at the boy in the tree.

"That mask... If I remember correctly, you must be a hunter-nin from Mist village," Kakashi stated.

"You are very well informed," he replied.

"A hunter-nin?"

"Naruto, do you even know what that is?" I asked and he mumbled a negative. "Hunter-nins are those who assassinate exiled ninja like Zabuza who, for some reason, go against the village they were born in," I started explaining. It's a bit amazing that I can remember stuff like this! "They do it to conceal any secret of their village."

"Yes, I am a member of the pursuing ninja unit that hunt exiled ninja," Haku said. Naruto ran up to the tree Haku was in and glared.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto yelled.

"Calm down, Naruto. He's not an enemy," Kakashi said.

"That's not what I'm asking! But... Zabuza was killed!" Naruto said. "He... he was so strong, but he was killed so easily by a kid that's not that different from me! We... We look like idiots!" He seriously looked ashamed of himself. "I... I can't accept this!"

"Well, I know how you feel... but this is also the truth. In our world, there are kids younger than you, but stronger than me," Kakashi informed Naruto, ruffling his hair. Haku disappeared from the tree and reappeared by Zabuza's body; he picked him up.

"Your battle is over. Now I must dispose of this corpse because it seems to be a body of many secrets. Now it you'll excuse me..." The young boy disappeared in a swirling wind. Naruto crumpled down to the ground, punching it continuously and going on about something until Kakashi grabbed his hand. Naruto pouted and got up, still frustrated.

"Things like this happen in the life of a ninja," Kakashi said. "If you don't like it, make it up next time."

_"Fine! I will!"_ I thought.

"Our mission hasn't ended yet," Kakashi said, turning to the rest of us. "We need to take the bridge builder to his house."

"Sorry about that, everyone!" Tazuna said, laughing a little. "Just rest at my house!"

"All right, let's cheer up and go!" Kakashi walked away. But it only took a few steps for him to collapse.

"Kakashi-sensei...?" Naruto exclaimed while everyone walked up to the fallen copycat ninja. "KAKASHI-SEN-!" I cut off his shout by quickly hit him over the head. "Ow! Sakura-chan, what was that for?"

"You don't have to yell! _We_ don't need the headache!"

0-0


	7. Forest of Chakra

_The Forest of Chakra!_

Followed by Naruto and Sasuke, I walked into the room where Kakashi was currently resting. _"Man, he looks so helpless..."_ I thought, sitting down beside him. My teammates did the same. _"I bet I could hit him and he wouldn't do anything!" _I grinned at the silly thought. _"He'd probably lecture me for a while, so I don't think I'll do it."_

"Kakashi-sensei's awake!" Naruto stated the obvious yet again. He had done so many times before. I really have to break him out of this habit. He wasn't even trying to be funny.

"I'm sorry..." Kakashi said.

"But you defeated such a strong ninja," Tazuna said, though I didn't turn to him. I was too busying watching my poor, poor sensei. "We should be okay for a while." Then Kakashi explained, in painful detail, what hunter ninja did and how they went about their jobs and blah, blah, blachy blah! Man, does he love to hear himself talk!

"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked. This made me look towards Kakashi. I haven't been paying attention for about five minutes. The fly knocking against the window, trying to get in was much more entertaining. Anyway, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Kakashi. He was only holding his head. Oh, he was sitting up now, too.

"Oh, about what I was talking about before... Pursuing ninja are supposed to eliminate the corpse on the spot," Kakashi said. "And that certain ninja did not do that. All he needed to do was bring back the head as proof. Also, the weapon that the boy used to kill Zabuza is questionable."

"It was just a long needle," Sasuke said. I haven't heard him talk in a while. "Could it be that...?"

"Yeah, it' just what you're thinking," Kakashi said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked.

"Zabuza is alive," Kakashi stated.

_"Glad somebody figured it out..." _I thought.

"WHAT?" Tazuna and Naruto yelled in unison.

"Eh?" the woman, who I'm assuming was the daughter of Tazuna, said in a much calmer matter.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked frantically. "You confirmed that he died yourself!"

"I did confirm it. But he was most likely merely in a near-death state," Kakashi said. "The weapon that the pursuing ninja used has a low fatality rate unless it hits a critical spot. It's mostly used in acupuncture healings and such. Pursuing ninja know the structure of a human body very well. It should be easy for them to put a person into a near-death state. First he took home the corpse of Zabuza even when it's obvious that the body was heavier than him. Second, he used a weapon that has a low fatality rate. From these two points the goal of that boy was not to kill Zabuza, but to help him."

"Maybe you're just thinking too much," Tazuna said.

"No, once a ninja feels that's there's something wrong, he must prepare for it before it's too late," I said before Kakashi could! _Hahaha_! Say something, Kakashi! I want you to! "It's one of the ninja's iron rules."

"That's exactly right, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"_Heh_! So when are we going to start preparing!" I asked. "You can't move for a while... just how are we going to prepare?"

"I'm going to make you all go through some training," Kakashi answered.

"Training…? Are you trying to kill us?" I asked. "A little bit of training won't help when Zabuza comes back!"

"Sakura, who saved me when I had a difficult time?" Kakashi asked. Instantly, my mood darkened. I glared down at the floor.

"Naruto and Sasuke..." I answered. My voice was bitter. Hell, I _was_ bitter. I couldn't do a thing.

"It was you too, Sakura. You three are growing at a rapid rate," Kakashi said.

_"Not me..."_ I thought. _"I get stuck protecting...!"_

"Especially you, Naruto," Kakashi said.

"Naruto was strong after he'd made that oath! And Sasuke already _is_ strong!" I said as I stood. "I was... just a third wheel." I began to walk out, but Kakashi stopped me with his voice.

"Sakura, you followed the mission exactly! You did your job effectively," he said.

"That's..." My face tensed as I sharply turned to the group in the room. They seemed stunned. "That's just not good enough for me!" I didn't wait for any type of response or reaction. I took off down the hallway. On the way, I passed a boy who had on a blue and white fisherman's hat. It looked as if he was listening to our conversation. _"Oh well, who cares..."_ I thought, slowing down. "I need some fresh air."

0-0

I was sitting with my back against a tree, which was had a perfect view of the ocean. It was beautiful. I wonder if the scene could be seen even through the fog. With a sigh, I dropped my gaze to the grass. I went through my holster on my leg and pulled out a kunai. Staring at it for a moment, I was nearly blinded by my reflection. What I saw was Sakura. I closed my eyes. At the moment, I am Haruno Sakura. Does this mean I have to act like her as well? I hate it. I seriously hate feeling this way. My finger touched the tip of the kunai, which drew blood. "I wish I could make an oath of pain, too..."I murmured. It's too bad that pain and I do _not_ get along. After another sigh, I placed the bleeding appendage in my mouth.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked. I looked up to see Sasuke. He was walking towards me.

Ignoring him, I pulled my finger from my mouth. "Crap!" It had not stopped bleeding. I put it back in my mouth, but the stupid bird brain yanked at my wrist.

"Let me see," he said. He knelt down beside me.

"_Ouch_! You made me bite myself!" I almost succeeded in growling.

"Shut up," Sasuke responded. My eye twitched. He was such an ass. He gripped my wrist, almost painfully as he dug into his back pouch. Finally he pulled out some bandages. Was he planning to wrap my finger up? And he did! I can't believe he's really doing this! "There... now come on so we can train."

"Hold on," I said. "I'll be there in a minute."

"No, our training begins now _not_ in one minute!" Sasuke said, grabbing my arm and pulling me up. Annoyed, I moved close to his face. The kunai that I had been holding was held to his neck. His eyes grew wide at my actions. Still, I didn't care. He was getting on my nerves with his 'I'm super superior' attitude towards everyone else.

"Look, Sasuke, I know you're trying to be a good teammate, but when I say I'll be there... I'll _be_ there!" I said. "I'm already irritated as it. Just let me calm down, so I won't try to hurt anyone! Got it?" Instead of answering me, he smirked. Suddenly, I felt myself being turned around, arms bound behind me. I grimaced in slight pain. He pushed me against the tree, too. Freaking asshole! My eyes squeezed shut. _"Why aren't I stronger?"_ I hissed in thought.

"Drop it…!" he ordered. He was straining my arm, so I did as he said. Like I said before, me and pain don't really get along. I heard the smugness in his tone. "Sakura, I'll admit that you surprised me, but don't forget... _I'm_ the strongest on our team." After another moment, he released me. My teeth clenched as my fingers gripped the bark of the tree. "Do you understand now?"

"No…" I replied. My throat felt like it was constricting. I may not have been the best in my Martial Arts class, but I was _one of them_. In fact, my teachers often said that I would be a black belt before I reached the age of sixteen. Why exactly am I so weak here? I should be better than this. I should be! "I don't _understand_!" I dropped down to my knees. Obviously, I'm surrounded by strong people. However, at his current level, I should be able to wipe the floor with Sasuke! Why couldn't I?

"Sakura…?" I turned to him. He looked a bit blurry for some reason. His mouth dropped opened. "What's wrong with you?" He sounded very uncomfortable. "Why are you crying?" Ah, so that's why he was uncomfortable.

"Shut up, I'm not crying!" I hastily wiped at my face. I forced myself to grin. "You're so stupid!" My teeth clenched again. I had kept my eyes hidden with the back of my hand. "You don't know what it's like."

"Sakura…"

"I may not be able to take you now, but I will!" I removed my hand to glare at him. Hopefully, I had wiped the tears away. "If I can't beat you, how am I… supposed to kill that person if and when the time comes?" I scoffed a bit as I looked down. As I am, I was no match for Orochimaru. _"Orochimaru…"_ I narrowed my eyes. _"He deserves death."_ It had only been a fit of passion that made me say that. I knew I wasn't going to be the one to kill here. Hell, I don't belong in this world. I wasn't Haruno Sakura. I am Ishikari Mayu, a person that came here because of an accident.

"Why do you want to kill someone?" Sasuke finally spoke up. His voice was soft. Ah, he thought we had something in common. I shook my hand and told him to forget about it. I tried to walk pass him, but he had grabbed my forearm. For a few seconds, we stayed like that. Then he continued. "Do you want to avenge someone, too?" he asked. The question echoed in my mind. I suppose you could call it that. The reason for my wanting Orochimaru dead had to do with the people he had caused harm to. In a way, I do want revenge.

"Sort of, do you?" I replied.

"Yeah," he answered softly. I bit my bottom lip. Finally, I turned to face him. His eyes were on the ground.

"You... wanna talk about it?" Instead of answering me, he sat down, which caused me to sit as well. He hadn't let go of my arm yet. "Sasuke?" After minutes of silence, he started talking.

"My clan was killed and I'm out for revenge," he stated. I guess it was hard to say out loud. I could not believe he actually told me. Then again, it appeared as though we were in the same boat. "What about you?" Finally, his dark eyes looked up, settling a gaze on me.

"Oh... um... This person—he killed someone important to me," I said. I swallowed a bit before continuing. "And he... took away someone that I admired. He made me _hate_ this person who I admired because he gave into the dark side. He betrayed his friends, his village... just because he wanted more power. And it's all that bastard's fault! Surely, he wouldn't have left if that man wasn't-!" I had to stop myself. Honestly, here I was ranting about Sasuke to Sasuke. I closed my eyes for a moment. Truthfully, I didn't always hate Uchiha Sasuke. Yeah, he was a major asshole when it came to people and relationships in general. However, his fighting prowess is something to admire. As a fighter, myself, he was a character I looked up to despite him not being real. Then he went and messed that up when he accepted Orochimaru as his power source.

"Sakura... I never knew that about you," Sasuke said, bringing me from my thoughts. I opened my eyes to look at him. "It's almost like you're like me. But..." He released my arm.

"Yeah...?" I asked.

"How can you be so care free all the time," Sasuke asked. "With something like that constantly at your mind… How can you even think of being happy when the person you want to kill is out there somewhere?"

"Sasuke, revenge, anger, and sadness shouldn't _consume_ a person," I said. He looked at me with his eyes narrowed. Though, I wouldn't call it a glare. "Those negatives emotions will destroy you from the inside. Yes, revenge could be necessary. However, if you let it control every aspect of your life, then you're not living in the first place. It will _hold_ you back, and you will remain at the same level. Don't you know that?" His eyes expanded again.

"I guess... you're right," Sasuke muttered.

"Of course I am! I'm _always_ right!" I said in an attempt to lighten the mood. I'm not the type of person who wallows in agony. I mentally punched myself. I had been doing just that before Sasuke came along. I released a heavy breath. I then felt myself smile. "Why do you think I have a giant forehead?" I stood up, and then grinned. "It's because I have a giant brain! You know, vast knowledge!"

"Giant forehead, indeed," Sasuke said. He also stood.

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree with _that_, Sasuke!" I scowled, turning away. "What a jerk you are!" Still, my grin remained. Thanks for making me realize something, bird brain. I'm not helpless. Sasuke grew to be stronger. Naruto grew to be stronger. I had to grow, too. No one is born strong, after all! I'll work hard so that I will never feel that way again! I walked away, determined to meet with Kakashi for the training. However, I didn't get very far because my hair was yanked from behind.

"Sakura-" The offender tried, but I sharply turned and glared at him.

"What the hell was that for?" I yelled. I yanked my hair back from his hand, and then tried to soothe my scalp. That was painful! "What'd you go and do th-"

"I like your hair this way," Sasuke commented. Wha...? Did he just say...? "This style makes it look more natural."

"Uh... yeah," I said uneasily. "I thought it would help me blend in more when I'm on missions." I think I may have said this already, but his sudden compliment made me feel weird all over. If I can recall right, Sasuke never gave compliments, especially concerning appearances. _"Why is he acting so strange?" _I thought. _"AH!"_ My mom told me something like this before. Years ago, when she came to Tokyo for a student transfer program, her appearance and strong behavior came as a shock to her Japanese classmates. They had changed a bit because of her close existence. Her presence caused changes simply because they hadn't been accustomed to a foreigner. This was probably the same thing. To Sasuke, Sakura had changed so quickly. He doesn't know how to act because Sakura has become something different. Being exposed to new things and people, people change. _"I guess that makes sense…"_ Being in school wasn't the same for me as it was for my mom even though I have her skin. Reason being, I grew up with everyone else, so they were already used to me. I shook my head and frowned, returning my focus back on Sasuke. "Did you _have_ to yank it so hard?" I could have sworn that Sasuke rolled his eyes at me. Another difference then…? "Hey, Sasuke?" I called out to him.

"What?"

"If I ever start calling you Sasuke-kun... hit me," I said.

"What?" Sasuke said again.

"If… I… ever… start… calling… you…" I said at a much slower pace. He didn't appreciate the implication. I snickered a bit. "If I ever start referring to you as Sasuke-kun, please hit me.

"What for?"

"Just do it!"

"Fine... whatever! Come on, let's go," he muttered. He walked ahead of me.

0-0

"Okay, now that everyone's here... we can begin!" Kakashi said.

"Roger!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke had led me straight to the other two.

"But before that, let me once again talk about chakra, the base for the ability as a ninja," Kakashi said. He had crutches to support him.

"At a time like this?" Sasuke asked.

"I already know about that," Naruto said, smiling. "Catra, right…?"

"It's chakra!" Kakashi corrected.

"Sasuke... did you think that it was 'catra' too?" I grinned at him and he just glared and then looked away.

"Okay, Sakura, can you explain to your ignorant teammate?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll explain it to the best of my ability! Pay attention, Naruto! I'm only going to explain this once!"

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto saluted.

"Chakra is energy that a ninja needs to use in order to do a technique," I started. "That energy comes from the body energy that is collected from every cell in the body... and from the spirit energy that comes from training, experience, and hard work. If you still don't understand what I'm saying... I'll just say that this two—physical and spiritual—energies are molded together and squeezed out of the body. Handled effectively, the combination of the two energies—called molding—a person can perform techniques, using hand signs as mediums."

"Correct. Iruka-sensei was blessed with a nice student after all," Kakashi said.

"What's with that? You can just learn that with your body even if you don't understand the hard stuff," Naruto said.

"Exactly what Naruto said. We're able to use techniques anyway," Sasuke agreed.

"No, you guys aren't able to use your chakra completely," Kakashi said.

"What?" Naruto sounded upset.

"Just listen up. Like Sakura said, molding the chakra means to... extract energies from the body and the spirit, then mixing them up in your body," Kakashi explained. "The amount of each energy will differ from the type of technique you wish to execute. In other words, the mixing will be different. You are not able to use your chakra effectively. Even if you are able to mold a large amount of chakra... If you cannot _control_ the balance, your technique will only be half as effective or not executed at all. Wasting energy will create a weakness of not being able to fight for a long time."

"So what should I do?" Naruto asked.

"You're going to learn how to control it with your body," Kakashi said. "You must go through rigorous training where you put your life on the line."

_"Sheesh! It makes it sound like you're going to die by just training!"_ I thought.

"What are we going to be doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Climb a tree."

"Climb a tree?" Sasuke and Naruto said in unison.

"That's right. But it's not ordinary tree climbing," Kakashi said. "You're going to climb without using your hands."

"How are we going to do that?" Naruto asked.

"Just watch," Kakashi said and then formed a hand sign. I watched him walk up a tree easily with just his feet.

"He's climbing..." Naruto said.

"With only his feet, cool!" I nodded my head in determination. This will help me get stronger. I will definitely pass this training. I hadn't thought of trying to use chakra to stick to stuff. I only used it for jumping or running. The point is I knew how to push chakra from my feet. With this exercise, I will learn to control the chakra I'm using. The first time I tried jumping with chakra, I'm pretty sure I almost killed myself. I had gone so high, and at the end of that experiment, my feet hurt a lot. I opted not to try that again for awhile. When I finally tried again, I didn't get very far, so I gave up, and tried running. That didn't turn out so well either. Like Kakashi said, it was the amount I used is where my problem lied.

"This is how," Kakashi said. He was now standing upside down on a branch. "Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and make it attach to the tree trunk. Something like this is possible if you use chakra."

"Alright! Let's get it started!" I said. "I'm already fired up!"

"The main purpose of this training is to accumulate the right amount of molded Chakra in the right location," Kakashi said. "This is difficult even for a well-trained ninja. The amount of chakra used for this tree climbing exercise is quite subtle. And the most difficult place to concentrate chakra is said to be behind the feet. In other words, if you master this, you can learn any kind of technique. In theory, that is. The second purpose is to maintain that molded chakra. Most of the time, ninja mold their chakra during battle. In that situation, it is even more difficult to maintain that chakra. Well, it's not like anything is going to happen even if I give this lecture. I need all of you to learn it with your bodies." Kakashi threw three kunai at us, one landed in front of each of us. "Use that knife to mark where you are able to climb up to with your current ability. Then try to make a new mark above that mark. You guys aren't good enough to climb by walking, so run to give yourself a boost, and get used to it. Got it?"

"This training is too easy for me!" Naruto bragged, pulling the kunai out of the ground. I also pulled mine out of the ground. "Since I'm the guy who is growing the most right now."

"Okay, be quiet. Try and climb up any of the trees," Kakashi said. I looked towards Naruto and Sasuke. They were making a hand sign, so I chose to do the same. I guess it was for concentration purposes.

_"Since it's about the amount, I imagine that too much will hurt me, and too little will not be enough to go far."_ I opened my eyes. I could feel the familiar tingling feeling of chakra at my feet.

"All right! Let's go!" Naruto said. I guess he had finished. Sasuke was done, too. We all ran to a different tree.

Higher and higher I got. I was so amazed. This feeling of freedom—it was awesome. The breeze that can with running up was refreshing. _"Oh, there's the highest branch!"_ My concentration broke because of that._ "Oh crap!"_ I made a mark, but continue to fall. Hastily, I grabbed a branch with my legs and now I was upside down, hanging. I surveyed my teammates' progress. To my glee, I had gone further than both of them. "Wow! I can't believe I got higher than Sasuke!" I shouted cheerfully as I waved my arms.

"Sakura-chan…!" Naruto shouted up to me.

"No you didn't! You're on the lowest branch of that tree," Sasuke stated.

"_Nah_! My mark is all the way up there!" I replied with a grin. I pointed up using the kunai. He seriously looked pissed. I decided to use this against him. "Fufufu… Is little Sasuke jealous?" He showed his teeth in a snarl.

"Oh? It looks like the female of our team has more chakra control than the rest," Kakashi said.

_"What's me being female have to do with anything?"_ I thought, raising an eyebrow.

**SHA-FUCKING-ZAAM! Girl power strikes again!**

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's something I expected from the girl I have high hopes for!" Naruto complimented. I smiled in response, but that didn't last long. I could feel my legs slipping.

"Hey, could I get a little help before I bust my head wide open?" I asked. And then I lost my grip. "_Wahhhh_!" I screamed at the thought of hitting the ground head first. To my surprise, I was rescued before the ground came too close. I was caught by "Kakashi-sensei?" I opened my eyes, but who I saw as Sasuke instead. "Oh…" I muttered. His eyebrow twitched as if annoyed by my reaction.

"Sorry you don't want me as a hero," he said, and then dropped me.

"OW! That was uncalled for!" I shouted at his retreating back.

"Your knowledge of chakra was splendid, Sakura," Kakashi said. "But you should continue working on control. You shouldn't lose concentration in the middle of a battle."

"Yeah, I know!" I replied, scratching my cheek.

"Maybe Sakura, and not someone else, is the closet one to becoming a Hokage right now. And I guess the Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought, either," Kakashi murmured. Clearly, he was trying to motivate the boys of the team. I smirked at the thought. Kakashi was smart. My teachers back home did that sometimes. Naruto and Sasuke look at each other.

"All right, I'm going to catch up to Sasuke first," Naruto said. "I'm going to do this!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit Naruto! Now you, Sasuke…!" I stared at him expectedly. However, he glared at me, and then looked away. I heaved a heavy sigh.

"You three, I want you to continue," Kakashi instructed.

"Yes, sensei!"

0-0

It had been a few hours since we started training and we were still going. "I feel like the energizer bunny or something!" I grumbled, trying to catch my breath. I was leaning against a tree, panting like a dog. I assumed that I had mastered controlling my chakra, but Kakashi hadn't told me to stop yet. Gradually, Sasuke had gone higher, but he couldn't necessarily control what he was doing. Naruto... had multiple bumps on his head. He hadn't progressed in strides like Sasuke had. He was still in the same range as he was before.

"What the heck is an energizer bunny?" Sasuke asked, still breathing hard.

"You... wouldn't... understand," I said in between pants. "Now keep moving!"

"_You_ keep moving!" he said as he picked up his kunai and ran up the tree again.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted, making me turn my attention to him. His head snapped in my direction. I'm sad to admit that this made me flinch. Naruto came crawling over to me. He sat without a word, and then after Sasuke went up the tree again he began to speak. "Hey, can you give me some tips?" he asked. "Don't tell Sasuke, though, okay?" he continued whispering. Naruto is so weird. Why didn't he want Sasuke to know? But then again, they are rivals. I found myself smirking. This was a good opportunity actually. Since I had gotten much better at control, I could teach him this.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything I know!"

0-0

It was the very next day and I was on the incomplete bridge _protecting_ the bridge builders. Sasuke and Naruto were still training. They hadn't mastered the chakra control, so I was the one doing the protecting today. I suppressed a yawned as I watched everyone work. "You sure seem bored all by yourself," a voice said; it was Tazuna. "Where's that blond kid and the other one?" he asked.

"They're still training," I answered.

"You don't have to?" he asked.

"No, I the only one that mastered the chakra control," I answered with a grin.

"_Really_?"

"Don't make me throw something at you!" I yelled. After that, things were pretty uneventful. The workers build, and I sat about being lazy. By the time it was time to go, one of the bridge builders had to wake me up. Groggily, I sat up, and then spotted Tazuna waiting for me. Yawning, I walked over to him. Together, we headed into the village. The sun was in the process of setting. I looked around the village as we walked. "Hey, old man!" I called up to him. "Where are we going again?"

"I'm going to bring home dinner," he answered. As we walked through the village I saw two kids younger than me sitting with their heads down.

_"Mmm, this village is suffering,"_ I thought.

"Here we are," Tazuna got my attention. We walked into the store, but it was completely empty. Well, not completely, but it wasn't like the supermarket that my mom usually goes to that was for sure! Suddenly, I feel someone grab my butt! Now, it was the very first time that I was ever grabbed so I did the only think I could do. I punched the man's lights out! The man flew back with blood squirting from his nose.

"Next time think before you grab a kunoichi's butt!" I yelled, completely mad. Sometime later, after we had left the store, Tazuna turned to me.

"You sure surprised me earlier," he said.

"Well, my mother always said I was full of surprises!" I replied. My clothes were yanked, so I turned around. There was a younger girl, holding out her hands.

"Please?"

"Oh..." Without really thinking about it, I reached into my bag and pulled out a rice ball. "Here you go. I wasn't going to eat it anyway." Actually, I was, but the kid didn't need to know that.

"Thank you!" the child said. I patted her head and smiled.

"Don't worry! Me and my friends are going to get Gatoh soon!" I proclaimed. She looked confused by my words. However, she still nodded, and then ran off.

"It's been like this since Gatoh came," Tazuna explained. I stared at the child's back until she was completely gone. "All the adults have lost hope here. That's why... we need that bridge now! A symbol of courage. We need the people to lose their fear and regain the desire to stand up for themselves. If that bridge... can just be completed! The city would return to that time... The people would return to how they used to be..."

"Come on, old man... let's go," I said, walking away. "You need your rest if you're ever going to complete the bridge!"

0-0

"That is just nasty!" I said, watching Naruto and Sasuke eat rapidly. I've seen my dad do it a couple of times, but these two... they're much faster! "Could you two slow down?"

"MORE!" they both shouted at the same time while standing up and holding their bowls in the air. They glared at each other and then just threw up! Just like that!

"Idiots…! What'd you think was going to happen?" I yelled. "I don't wanna see you throw up in front of me! Especially while I'm eating!"

"I must eat to become stronger," Sasuke said, wiping his mouth.

"Yeah, we have to, no matter what," Naruto said. "Because we have to become stronger as fast as possible."

"Yup, yup," Kakashi agreed.

"Yeah! But it doesn't help if you throw it all up!" I said. "Now I can't eat after what I just witnessed!"

"Hey, that picture," Naruto said looking at the wall. "Why is it torn like that?"

"Yeah, it looks like it was torn on purpose," I said. It was silent for a few moments.

"He was my husband," Tazuna's daughter said, but she didn't stop washing the dishes.

"The man once called the hero of the city..." Tazuna started, but then the little boy, Inari, left without a word. Tazuna's daughter quickly followed after him.

"Father! I told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" she said as she left.

"There seems to be a story behind this," Kakashi said.

_"Story...?"_ I thought and then put my head on the table. You see, long stories make me real tired! So why try and fight it? _"I'm going to be asleep as soon as he starts!"_ I actually fell asleep while watching the episode I think. There's no way I'm staying up for real thing.

"Inari had a father not related by blood," Tazuna started. And here I go... now!

0-0

_"Man, why does this always happen to me!"_ I thought, walking around in a forest. _"For once I would like to end up in an ice cream factory or something like that!"_ Suddenly, I hear a very loud sigh. That's strange, considering I was usually alone in my dreams. I went towards where I heard the sigh. I stepped from the bushes to see Sasuke sitting on a small hill. "What the h-e double hockey sticks are you doing here?" I asked. He turned to me and to my utter shock, he smiled! Weird seeing as how the closest he has ever come to smiling was smirking. "Sasuke...?" I asked uncertain. Maybe it wasn't him. Naruto could be using him as a disguise again.

"Oh, it's just you," he said before turning back around to stare at the lake in front of him. "Come, join me."

_"Did he just invite me to sit with him?"_ I thought. Something's weird…! "Sasuke, why are you here?" I asked as I walked forward. I sat down beside him, waiting for an answer.

"What are you, blind?" His retort caused me to grimace. I wanted to smack him so bad. "I'm looking at the lake, moron!" He wore a smirk now. The freaking ass! "Don't tell me… Did you fall on you head again, Mayu?"

"Shut up! Wait…" My eyebrows furrowed together. Did he just call me by my real name? "Wait a minute! How do you know I'm not really Sakura?"

"I know because your hair isn't giving me a headache," he said. His eyes turned to me. His eyebrow was raised. "It's been awhile since you've been Sakura. You must have really hit your head hard, huh?"

"So what I have a tendency to trip and fall?" I said, folding my arms. "At least I don't have the tendency to look like a peacock like other people I know!"

"Are you making fun of me?" Sasuke said. His expression was fierce. I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Gasp! Did you actually get that?" I mocked, feigning surprise. "For a bird brain, you're _pretty_ smart!" My tone was obviously sarcastic. Sasuke glared at me, but I just stuck my tongue at him. For a while, he only sat there, staring at me. "What?" Suddenly, he tackled me sending us rolling down the hill! When we stopped rolling, I landed on top of him. "What the heck did you do that for?" I yelled at him. He only smirked again. It was so infuriating. "What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing... I was just thinking about what it would be like if I married you," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh," I said... Then I actually thought about what he said. "What?" He opened his mouth, but another voice succeeded in interrupting and gaining our attention.

"Hey! Sasuke, we got another mission!" It was Naruto. He waved down at us. By his side, there stood Sakura. She was giving a very jealous look. "So hurry up! We gotta go!"

"I'm coming," Sasuke said, making me turn back to him. He rolled over so that now he was on top of me. "See you, Mayu." He moved to get off me.

"H-Hold on!" I shouted, standing up. "What did you say?" That's it… I must have heard wrong, which is why he was still acting so nonchalant. Silly ears need to stop playing with me.

Sasuke stopped and looked back at me with a grin. I almost felt my face grown hot! His eyes looked upward. "When I get older..." he began, and then looked at me again. There was such a warm look in his eyes. It freaked me out. "I'm going to marry you..." He lost his grin. I only stared at him with wide eyes. A strangled gasp escaped my throat. Sasuke turned, continuing up the hill. "Until I get back," he said, holding his hand up in a goodbye wave. "See you later, Mayu." I stood there, frozen for who knows how long. I blinked and shook my head.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" I yelled, reaching out even though Sasuke and his teammates were long gone by now. "I don't want to...!" But then things started to get real blurry.

0-0

"I DON'T WANT TO!" I screamed, sitting up straight. I blinked a few times before realizing that everyone was looking at me.

"_Eh_? Sakura-chan, what don't you wanna do?" Naruto asked. "Oh, and you're kinda punching Sasuke." I looked over and sure enough, my fist was lodged in Sasuke cheek! He's eye was twitching madly too.

"Would you kindly remove your fist?" Sasuke asked, yanking my hand down.

I felt my cheeks grow warm as he continued to glare at me. "I need to be excuse!" My voice was high and it cracked, too. I hastily stood up and ran out of the room. When I was sure no one was following me I stopped and leaned against the wall. I panted lightly as I clutched my chest. Inside, the heart was beating very fast. _"What the hell was that?" _I questioned. _"And why in the world did it happen to me?"_

0-0


	8. Zabuza Returns

_Battle on the Bridge_

_Zabuza Returns_

I walked into the kitchen where I saw that Kakashi, Sasuke, Tazuna and his daughter were already up. "Morning..." I yawned while rubbing the rest of the sleep out of my eyes. I am happy to report that I did not dream about Sasuke at all! _Hahahaa_! This time it was Gaara-kun! Or _Panda-chan_ as I like to say. I sat down at the table. Food was placed in front of me. "Thanks for the food!" I bowed a bit, and then moved to dig in.

"Naruto didn't come back last night?" Tazuna asked.

"I wasn't aware that he left," I replied, and then took another bite.

"Yeah, you did rush off right before Naruto left," Kakashi stated. "Are you feeling all right Sakura?"

"Yeah, actually... I'm fired up!" I said, clenching my fist! Man, I really wanna fight someone! "Anyway, Naruto's probably asleep against a tree somewhere."

"I do hope Naruto-kun's all right," Tazuna's daughter said. "A child all alone in the woods overnight..."

"Don't worry," Kakashi said. "He might not look it, but he's a true ninja."

"I don't know," Sasuke said. "It wouldn't surprise me if that moron was dead." I gasped over dramatically while putting a hand over my chest.

"How could you say something like that about you own teammate?" I asked, getting up and pulling Sasuke's hair.

"_Ow_! What are you doing?" he asked.

"Because of your smart remark, _we're_ going to find him!" I said, going for the door still holding on to Sasuke.

"What about your breakfast?" Sasuke asked.

"Already ate! Now, let's go!" I said, opening the door. Of course Sasuke followed seeing as though I still had a grip on his hair.

"That was fast..." I heard him mutter.

0-0

"Sakura... Sakura... SAKURA!" Sasuke yelled.

"What?" I asked calmly.

"You _still_ have my hair!" he yelled.

"Oh, _hahaha_! Sorry," I said. After I released him, I scratched at my cheek. Well, it's not my fault I forgot. He's the one that didn't say anything for a bunch of minutes! We continued walking, in search of Naruto. You'd think we'd hear him snoring or something.

"Sakura, what was the matter with you yesterday?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"It was just a weird dream, Sasuke-kun!" I said with a smile. I was in such a happy mood thanks to that Gaara dream. I can't wait to meet with him. My body stopped suddenly, mid stride. It had dawned on me what I had just called the nearly emotionless ninja. Nah…! There's no way I did that. I would never. _"I didn't... did I?" _I thought. _"I couldn't have...!"_ A hard, yet gentle, punch to my head snapped me out of my thoughts. "What was that for?"

"You told me to hit you if you ever started calling me 'Sasuke-kun', " he answered, confirming what I said. My eyes grew, probably to comical proportions.

"Oh no…! I'm _losing_ myself!" I cried out. _"I'm actually becoming Sakura!" _I thought in panic.

**THE HORROR! **

"Sakura, what's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" I chanted, shaking my head. I grabbed my hair. "This can't be happening! This can't be happening!"

"What's gotten into you, Saku-" I didn't let him finish. My fingers latched onto his shirt.

"My name is not Sakura! Mayu! Mayu! Mayu!" I said, shaking Sasuke to and fro. "Mayu, damn it! My name is Mayu!"

"W-W-W-W-What? Sakura, what's your problem?" Sasuke managed to get out.

"No! My name is Mayu! Say it!" I ordered, still shaking him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"_Say_~ it!" I growled in his face.

"Okay! Okay! Your name is Mayu!" Sasuke cried out. I released him making him fall to the ground. Suddenly, I felt very relaxed. The acknowledgement definitely eased my mind. That's right. I'm not Sakura. I need to come back. Ishikari Mayu is my real name. That is who I am.

"_Ahhh_! I really needed to hear that!" I said once I calmed down.

"_What_ is with you?" Sasuke asked/yelled. "Where did _Mayu_ come from?"

Oh... crap...! _"Please don't tell me I just let that slip!"_ I thought, looking at Sasuke. Confusion was all over his face. "Uh... what are you talking about Sasuke?" I tried to brush aside his questions. "Did you drink something you weren't supposed to?"

"Don't get dumb!" he growled, standing up. He actually took out a kunai! "Answer me! Are you an enemy ninja disguised as my teammate?"

"No..." I answered truthfully. Not liking my answer, Sasuke slammed my back against a tree. Wincing, I cracked my eyes open. The kunai was dangerously close to my vein. _"Me and my big dumb mouth!" _I thought, turning my eyes up. Sasuke did not seem to be happy with this development. I wasn't too happy either, let me tell you!

"Explain yourself!" Sasuke demanded.

"Well, I asked myself... myself said 'mmm?' I said 'why am I in Sakura's body?' Myself said 'I don't know!' and I was like-" I said but Sasuke interrupted.

"_Don't_ play with me!" Sasuke growled.

"I'm serious! Think about it!" I yelled in his face. "The day right… right after you guys became certified ninja is the day _Sakura_ started acting like you were an ordinary person and not some god sent from the heavens above to come and marry her! Ask yourself, Sasuke? Can a person really change personalities in one night?" Sasuke slowly lowered his kunai but he was still glaring at me.

"You have a point..." he said. The tip of the kunai was pointed at me. "But you could still an enemy ninja!"

"What? I'm not even really a ninja!"

"You're… You're not...?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I'm just a normal girl that happens to know how to fight back," I said. After a few tense minutes, he seemed to be satisfied with that because he finally let me go.

"I need to tell Kakashi-sensei about this," Sasuke said, turning away.

"Wait! You can't!" I said, grabbing his arm. "You can't tell anyone!"

"Give me one good reason."

"Well, because... I like traveling with you and Naruto and if he finds out..." I started. "Then you're going to be bored!"

I could have sworn I saw Sasuke about to fall, but he quickly caught himself. "_That's_ your reason!" he asked.

"Yeah..." I turned my eyes to the ground. "Well, I've gotten fond of you three. Even you, Sasuke… I don't want to leave you guys." Another moment passed, and then Sasuke sighed.

"Fine, whatever! I won't say anything for now, but this situation can't be ignored. It's not normal for someone to possess another person's body. This isn't the Transformation Jutsu, is it?" he asked. I shook my head. "As soon as we get back to the village, the Hokage should hear about this… predicament."

"Really…?" I asked. I was so happy that I could hug the bird brain! And I did! "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"H-Hey! Let go! Let go!" Sasuke yelled, pushing me. I let go and did a little twirl!

_"Okay, so now... Sasuke knows that I'm not really Sakura,"_ I thought getting serious. _"He seems cool with it... but I think that's because he rather have me than some drooling girl. I should have never opened my big mouth! And he found out so quickly, too!"_

"Sakura—I mean, Mayu, was everything you told us a lie?" Sasuke asked. "And how old are you?

"Of course not!" I said. "The only thing I did lie about was my name. And I'm 12, of course."

"So, you really do want revenge?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah… why…?"

"No reason, come on... Let's go find Naruto," he replied, walking in a random direction.

_"I can't believe he knows...!"_ I thought, following after him. _"Will he change the way he is around now that he knows my secret?"_ I kept following Sasuke. It had gotten really quiet... and it was driving me crazy!

Though, before I could start singing, because that's what I do when I'm bored, I saw a woman coming towards us. Wait a minute... that 'woman' is actually Haku! Sasuke walked right passed _her_, but I walked right in front of _her_. "Hey, are you a boy?" I asked. "Or just a really flat-chest woman?" I asked, touching_ her _chest, of course I didn't feel nothing seeing as how she was a guy!

"Sakura! Stop that!" Sasuke yelled at me as he walked over. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, I was just trying to figure it out!" I said innocently.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, she… just hasn't taken her pills yet," Sasuke said, grabbing my hands.

"What? Pills? I don't take any pi-" Before I could finish, he put his hand over my mouth.

"Yes, pills!" he snapped, telling me to shut up; he let go slowly.

"Oh yeah, pills! I am a crack head!" I said with a sloppy smile. Now, how can a smile be sloppy? I don't know... so don't ask!

"I am a boy," Haku said making Sasuke flinch. I saw that he had an 'OMFG' look on his face. I had to suppress a giggle because of that. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said and continued walking away.

"Come on Sasuke! It looks like _you_ need those pills now!" I said, dragging him along. I saw Naruto up ahead, shaking his head and mumbling incoherent things. I don't even think he heard us coming. Sasuke walked over and punched Naruto over the head to get his attention... I guess.

"Hey! What the hell?" Naruto shouted grabbing his head.

"Hey, Naruto!" I said stepping from behind Sasuke.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! You came to see how I was doing?" Naruto asked.

"Of course! What kind of teammate would I be if I didn't?" I said. "That's the reason Sasuke's here too!"

"No! You dragged me here against my will," Sasuke corrected.

"So, how_ are _you doing?" I asked curious. He just gave me a big goofy grin. "Well, are you going to tell us?"

"You'll see!" he answered.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura!" a voice got my attention; it sounded like Kakashi!

"Everybody hide!" Naruto said. I quickly went up a tree and I guess Naruto did, too because I didn't see him on the ground anymore.

Sasuke was still there though. "You guys are idiots," I heard him say before he ran off somewhere. Soon after, I saw Kakashi walked towards where the three of us were once standing.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura!" he called again.

Suddenly, I saw a kunai knife lodge in front of Kakashi and looked up to see who threw it... Of course it was Naruto, showing off! He was way up high in the tree! _"He's improved!" _I thought smiling lightly.

"What do you think?" Naruto shouted down at Kakashi. "Look how far I can climb now!" I saw him stand up on the branch he was on and grin. But then it looked as if he was about to fall! He stopped falling because he had used his chakra to cling to the bottom of the branch. "Just kidding!" he said, smiling. "You fell for it! You fell for it!" he laughed loudly.

With a pop, his feet came loose! I quickly jumped over to his tree because it was so close to mine. I grabbed one of his ankles, and used chakra to stick to the bottom of the branch. He was safe from that nasty fall. "That was close," I muttered.

"You had the same idea, too?" I didn't even know Sasuke was right next to me doing the same thing I was. I grinned at him before replying.

"I guess so I couldn't help myself."

"Hn..."

"Naruto, stop being so reckless all the time!" I yelled down at the loud ninja.

"He is such a moron," Sasuke said.

"Sakura-chan... Sasuke..." I heard Naruto say.

"You three are really growing!" I heard Kakashi call up to us. "And working together as a team, too! I'm impressed." I smiled at the compliment. I love compliments!

0-0

It had changed from day to night quickly. Or that's what it seemed like. The three of us were still running up trees when the moon had come out. Minutes later. all of us had reached the highest point of the highest tree in the forest, even Naruto! And we didn't fall once! I'm so proud of us! "Shall we go back now?" Sasuke asked.

I nodded my head as Naruto shouted 'yeah!' We all climbed down at a slow place, I guess they were as tired as me. By the time we reached the bottom, Naruto collapsed. "Come on, Sasuke... I think we have to carry him," I said as I walked over to Naruto's tired body.

"That would be nice," Naruto mumbled as I put his arm over my shoulder.

"Dumbass," Sasuke commented as he did the same thing to Naruto's left side.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan... Sasuke!" Naruto said, panting lightly just like Sasuke and I were.

"Don't mention it!" I said. "Now let's get to Tazuna's so we can eat!"

0-0

We all walked through the door that I had opened. Everyone was looking at us and our tired bodies. Slowly, we made our way forward. Tazuna commented on our appearance. I guess we were in need of a bath. We had been out there for hours. "All three of us... made it to the top!" Naruto tiredly cheered.

"That's good," Kakashi said. The mask made it hard to see if he was smiling. However, there was a proud tone in his voice. "Naruto, Sasuke... Tomorrow you'll protect Tazuna-san, too." Naruto smiled and then yelled.

"Yeah!" he moved his body, making all three of us fall back to the floor.

"You're a total moron!" Sasuke said. I just laughed along with the rest of the adults. I stood up and went over to the table.

"Well, I'm ready to eat!" I said, clapping my hands.

"The bridge is nearing completion, all thanks to you guys," Tazuna said as Sasuke and Naruto sat down too.

"But please be careful not to overdo it," Tazuna's daughter said.

"I wanted to ask you earlier, but... Why are you still here when I lied about this mission?" Tazuna asked. Though, I was too busying eating to hear what Kakashi's answer was. Naruto was already finished and so was Sasuke.

_"Man, they can eat fast!" _I thought. I finished eating and stood up. "May I be excused?" Kakashi nodded, so I left the room and went upstairs to the room I was sleeping in.

"Now… What were the hand signs for the Clone Jutsu?" I asked myself as I closed the door. Oh yeah... I performed proper hand signs. It was slow movement, but I succeeded in making a clone appear. However, this was too strange! Yeah, it was clone, but the color scheme not right. It was _my_ color scheme—I mean my original one! Although it looked like Sakura, the hair was dark in color instead of bubblegum pink. Instead of pure green, its eyes were blue. Also, the skin of the clone was my own—a shade of brown. "What the heck is going on...?" I muttered, circling the clone. This was more than a little strange. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The voice told me that it was Sasuke. "H-Hold on!" I called out, panicked. "How do I get rid of you?" And just like that, it vanished. "Whoa…"

"Sakura…? I'm coming in!" Sasuke said.

"No! I'm naked!" I shouted. Seeing the door about to open made those words come out. The door quickly shut and I heard Sasuke grumbled.

"Well, get dressed!"

"Sorry, sorry!" I went over to the door and opened it. I scratched at my cheek. "It was a reflex to say that." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me, and then walked in. He sat down, making himself quite comfortable. _"Rude…"_ I thought as I closed the door.

"Hey," he said once I turned around. My eye twitched.

"Hey, yourself..." I replied, sitting across from him. "What are you here for?"

"I've come with questions," Sasuke answered. "First off, where's the real Sakura?"

"Probably in my body," I said. "Since I'm in hers, she's most likely in mine."

"What village are you from?"

"Uh..." I hadn't really thought about that.

"Well?" Sasuke said.

"You've probably never heard of it," I said nervously.

"Try me."

"Uh... Tokyo..." I said.

"You're right... I've never heard of it," Sasuke.

"Yeah, it's pretty far from this country..." I said. _"Time wise, too..." _I finished in thought.

"Okay... just how strong are you?" Sasuke asked. I was not expecting him to ask that.

"_Um…_ Well, back where I come from... one of the top people in my class," I answered.

"Well, your classmates must be pretty weak," Sasuke smirked.

"What? You shut your mouth!" I said. "You have not seen what I can do yet!"

"What can you do?" Sasuke asked.

"Before I came here, I was strong, but..." I started. "Since I got here, my speed, strength and stamina has combined with Sakura's abilities making them greatly increase. That's why I was able to kick Kakashi-sensei, a jounin."

"Well, the way you say it... it's almost like you're invincible," Sasuke muttered.

"I wouldn't go that far. After all, it doesn't seem to be enough."

"You sounded confident in your skills," Sasuke said.

"I am confident in my skills. However, being surrounding by stronger people does put a damper on that confidence. Still, I might be able to take you now that I know how to control my chakra!"

"You wanna prove it?" Sasuke said standing.

"I'll take you on right here, right now!" I replied as I stood up as well. Sasuke suddenly made a pained face. I could feel the pain in my own legs. We both fell to the floor at the exact same time. "I guess we're going to have to take a rain check on that one, huh?" I asked, rubbing my aching legs. Running up trees all day had taken its toll.

"Yeah, when I get my strength back up," Sasuke said.

"It's a deal," I said. "Now get out of my room, pervert!"

"What?"

0-0

Whoa! Since when did the bridge look so done? I could have sworn it was only half way complete! _"Though, I wasn't paying attention the last time I was here,"_ I thought as we walked on to the bridge. It was only Tazuna, Kakashi, Sasuke, and I. Naruto was left behind because Kakashi thought he needed more rest. _Che_… Yeah right. The guy was a walking ball of energy.

"W-What's this?" Tazuna said, gaining my attention. I looked up to see all the workers lying on the ground! Some were groaning in agony. "What happened?" he asked.

_"Zabuza..."_ I thought. "He's returned..." I said out loud. Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense. A fog appeared.

"Sasuke, Sakura! Here it comes!" Kakashi said, we instantly got into the formation that we did last time and Sasuke and I each had a kunai up in defense... Well, my was for attacking! That's right! I'm _going_ to do something today! My heart was pounding against my ribcage! But it wasn't like before... I don't know what is was, but I knew I wasn't scared this time.

"Sorry for the wait, Kakashi," Zabuza's voice said. "You're still with those brats..." I frowned at the insult. "He's shaking again, poor kid." I guess he was talking about Sasuke. Suddenly, I noticed that about five or six Zabuza clones surrounded us.

"Sasuke, do it," Kakashi said.

_"Me too,"_ I thought, and then using Sakura's speed to boost up mine, I slashed right through three Zabuza clones with my kunai. _"Man… That felt good!" _I thought, pushing my hair over my shoulder because it had moved to the front with I was attacking. I saw Sasuke slash through the rest before all of them turned into water.

"Oh? They saw through the water clones," Zabuza's voice caught my attention. "Your brats have grown." I noticed that Zabuza and Haku were ahead of us. "It looks like two new rivals has appeared, _eh_, Haku?" Zabuza continued.

"It does indeed," Haku answered.

"Sakura, I didn't tell you to attack," Kakashi said. I laughed nervously and scratched my cheek.

"I could have sworn you said _Sakura_," I said nervously. "My bad... Well, at least I got 'em, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes, you did," Kakashi stated.

"Hey, Sasuke... aren't you glad Zabuza changed his wardrobe... I sure am!" I whispered to Sasuke.

"Don't pay attention to his clothes, idiot," Sasuke said.

"Whatever..." I said holding up my kunai again.

"Oh my, it looks like my thinking was right on mark," Kakashi said.

"Thinking...?" Zabuza said.

"That masked one... " Kakashi said.

"As we thought," Sasuke said.

"So, being a Hidden Mist hunter-nin was a super complete lie?" Tazuna asked.

"He's obviously Zabuza's comrade," Kakashi said. "He is standing next to him..."

"You really should take off that mask, seeing as how we know the truth," I called over to him.

"Hiding behind that mask… Who does he think he is?" Kakashi said.

"_Um_...Kakashi-sensei, you wear a mask, too!" I said.

"Oh..."

"I'll fight him," Sasuke said. His eyes were narrowed. "Tricking us with that act..." he continued. "I hate bastards like that the most."

"Are you trying to imply something, _huh_, bird brain?" I asked.

"No, _Sakura_, I am not," Sasuke said. Suddenly, Haku came at us, spinning. It looked like a small tornado! Sasuke got ready to do something! Glad he didn't come after me... I wasn't ready for _that_...!

"So, he can keep up with Haku," Zabuza said.

"Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay close to me," Kakashi instructed.

"What? All that training and I don't get to fight?" I asked as I walked in front of Tazuna.

"Now is not the time for you to fight someone like that boy," Kakashi said.

"Kicked _you_, didn't I?" I muttered. Kakashi must have heard me because he flinched and stayed silent. _"Ha! Say something now!" _I thought. I watched as Haku and Sasuke clash with each other again and again. Kunai against needle, it looked as if they were evenly matched. Then I noticed that Haku performing hand signs with just one hand! "A thousand needles of death," I heard him say and he kicked at a puddle. The water surrounded the two and then formed into needles! _"How is he going to get out of this one?"_ I thought, still watching. Sasuke wasn't moving. I think it was trying to concentrate on his chakra even in battle. The needles moved in at an alarming rate! "Sasuke! Do something already!" I yelled. The needles had hit, but Haku jumped back just in time. Sasuke though... He was gone. I didn't see him at all. _"Where did he go?"_ I thought looking around.

I looked up and saw Sasuke about to throw three shuriken. But Haku just dodged them by backing up each time he threw one. I looked back up to see Sasuke gone again; he was now behind Haku! _"He's fast... just how fast is he, though?"_ I thought. They suddenly moved away from each other and the clashed again! But this time Sasuke had an extra kunai and threw it at Haku's face causing him to move to the ground to dodge it. Sasuke seeing the advantage kicked Haku sending him flying back!

_"Wow, can't say I'm not impressed..."_ I thought.

"Thought you were quicker, huh?" Sasuke said. "Tell me… What else were you wrong about?"

_"Okay, he's just bragging now,"_ I thought, shaking my head.

"You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats," Kakashi said. "That's guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude and Sakura's anger. He's the best young fighter of the Hidden Leaf village and Sakura here, is our sharpest mind; she has shown some great skills too."

"That's right!" I said.

**Damn straight!**

"And last but not least, our number one, hyperactive, knuckle head ninja is Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi finished.

"Indeed," I said, nodding my head. Suddenly, Zabuza started laughing.

"Haku, if we keep going like this... we'll be the victims instead of them," he said. "Get on with it!"

"Right," Haku said, standing. Haku suddenly had this blue aura thing going on. "I'm sorry it's come to this."

"The air... so cold," Sasuke said. Well, now that he mentioned it... it was getting colder.

_"Wait a minute! I know this!"_ I thought. "Sasuke, move your butt!" I yelled to him but he , the water started turning into ice! "Get out of there!" I yelled, running towards Sasuke.

"Sakura, no!" I heard Kakashi yell... too bad my name isn't Sakura! I was now at Sasuke's side.

"Come on, dummy!" I said, trying to drag him away. "Can't you see this is dangerous?" I was about to run back over to Kakashi with Sasuke being dragged behind me, but I saw that an ice thing blocked me. "Crap!"

"Secret Jutsu..." Haku said as more and more ice things appeared around us. "Crystal Ice Mirrors!" The ice mirrors began to glow and then Haku stepped into one of them from the outside!

_"I'm in trouble now!"_ I thought. _"Why did I have to run right into this?"_ Suddenly, replications of Haku appeared in the other mirrors.

"They're mirrors!" Sasuke said. "But how?"

"Well, shall I begin?"

"Well, if we have a choice... how about no?" I said.

"I shouldn't have asked," Haku said. "I'll show you my true speed." Suddenly, I feel something slice right through my clothes! My sleeve to be exact! Sasuke was getting the same thing done to him!

"Sasuke! Sakura!" I heard Kakashi call to us. Next I feel as if a hundred needles are being thrown at me!

"_AHHH_!" I screamed. I never did like getting flu shots and still don't like needles! I heard Sasuke screaming too! I felt blood running down parts of my body as I continued to cry out. The attacks weren't letting up either! But then, they did! _"Why did he stop?"_ I thought, looking up. I saw Haku lying inside with us! He sat up slowly and was looking around. _"How...?" _I thought. "N-Naruto... is that him...?" I said out loud.

"I only know one n-ninja that shows off l-l-like this," Sasuke said. I saw that his face was bleeding and he had cuts in his flesh as well.

"Uzumaki Naruto... has arrived!" I heard Naruto shout.

_"He really _is_ a show off." _Despite the thought, I couldn't help but grin.

0-0


	9. The End of the Beginning

_The End is Only the Beginning_

Everyone stared as Naruto finish his , I stood up seeing that the enemy was distracted. A confident grin was plastered on the new arrival's face. "Now that_ I'm_ here, everything will be fine," he stated. "Usually in this type of situation in the story, the main character shows up and kicks some major bad guy's ass!"

"He talks too much," I heard Sasuke grumble. Although I am happy to see Naruto, I have to agree with Sasuke on this on.

"Okay, here goes!" Naruto shouting, preparing to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but before he could complete it, Zabuza threw shuriken at him.

_"N-Naruto! Move it!" _I yelled in my mind, but he just stayed there with a scared look on his face! Suddenly I saw needles fly toward the shuriken knocking them to the ground. "Man, if he gets killed before saving us I'll..." I trailed off.

"Hey! What idiot would use a jutsu right in front of the enemy?" Kakashi yelled to Naruto. "The true ninja art is trickery—to fool the opponent! Even for just one jutsu, you must confuse the opponent, sneaking up from behind to catch them off guard. With the way you appeared, it's like you just showed up to be a target!"

"No way! I came to save..." Naruto began to shout.

"Sasuke?" I tried getting his attention with a low whisper.

"W-What?" he too was on his knees by now.

"You think you can hit Haku from here?" I asked.

"Why can't you do it?" he asked.

"Because... I don't have much practice with a kunai... I don't know how to throw it effectively," I answered.

"Figures..." I heard Sasuke muttered. Ungrateful little brat!

"You're as soft as always..." I heard Zabuza say.

"I'm sorry," Haku said.

_"Zabuza's right... if he really wanted to kill us,"_ I thought._ "Sasuke and I would be dead right now! Those hits he was giving us earlier, hurtful they were, but not fatal. If Haku could put Zabuza in a near-death state then, he could kill with a wave of his hand. Is he not going to-"_

"Well then, I'll just have to defeat you first!" Naruto's shout snapped me out of my thoughts. "So, you were Zabuza's friend. How dare you trick us?"

"Sorry, but as your sensei said, tricking your opponent is the true art of the shinobi," Haku said. "Don't hate me for it." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sasuke with a kunai in his hand. He was about to attack! He finally threw his kunai, but Haku dodged it by just moving back. "I haven't forgotten about you two," he said. I cringed, thinking about what type of retaliation he had in store for us.

"Good going, Sasuke!" I yelled, glaring at him. He glared right back at me.

"_You're_ the one suggested it to me!" Sasuke retorted.

"Oh yeah..."

"Idiot!" he grumbled.

"I'd like it if you'd just stay down," Haku said, looking directly at us. "But it looks like that's not going to happen. Fine then, let's finish things between us first."

"_Nah_, you can fight Naruto first!" I said. "I have no problem with waiting. It's not like I'm going anywhere!"

"No, I think I'll fight you first," Haku said walking to one of the mirrors… Damn it.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, getting the enemy's attention. He actually stopped. I'll never under the laws and rules of _Naruto_.

"Naruto-kun, we'll settle things later," Haku said, and then he molded with the ice mirror he was in front of.

"Here he comes...!" I muttered. I saw Sasuke looking at the other mirrors, which Haku had not appeared in yet; Sasuke was going for a weapon...

"Over here," I heard Haku's voice behind us! He had disappeared from the mirror in front of us.

_"That __**is**__ fast!"_ I thought, slowly turning around along with Sasuke. Haku replicas suddenly began to appear in the mirrors and he looked ready to attack! Suddenly, I feel my body being attacked again with more needles. I tried to protect myself, but it was of little use. I was thrown back by the oncoming needles.

"SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE!" I heard Naruto shout. Man, I am in pain, pain, pain, pain, pain, pain, pain!

"Sasuke!" I said struggling to get up; he was, too. "He's moving so fast... that we can't even see him moving!"

"What?" he said. "That's impossible!"

"The mirrors... he's using them for transport," I said, holding my leg, which was throbbing.

"I'm surprised you figured that," Sasuke said. I decided to ignore that smartass remark in favor of thinking of our lives, which were on the line. Did he really need to make that comment in this situation? Until the day he dies, he'll be a pain in my ass, I'm sure.

"Our only shot is for Naruto to attack the outside... while we attack the inside," I whispered softly so that Haku couldn't hear.

"You're right," Sasuke said. "That would be a good plan."

"HEY!" a voice startled me so much that I fell back in shock. "I came to save you!"

"N-N-Naruto!" I shouted.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"You total moron!" Sasuke and I shouted at the same time... weird."If you're a shinobi, then move more carefully!" Sasuke finished.

"What did you say?" Naruto shouted back. "I came to save you guys and _this_ is what I get?"

"W-Why did you come inside the mirrors?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't help if we all are trapped!" I shouted, shaking Naruto like crazy!

It's just I really wanted to get out of here and Naruto screwed that up for me! "Damn it! I don't care anymore. You're an idiot!" Sasuke said, looking away.

"Idiot? How dare you call me an idiot, you idiot!" Naruto shouted once I had stopped shaking him. Sasuke stood up and looked at all the mirrors.

"All right then, I'll just bust these mirrors!" he said and then did some hand signs. "Fire Element!"

"Hey, what'cha gonna do?" Naruto asked.

"These mirrors are made of ice, so..." Sasuke said. "GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" A giant ball of fire suddenly came out of Sasuke's mouth. Well, it looked like it came from his mouth. It went straight towards two of Haku's mirrors. Yet, when the fire cleared the mirrors were nowhere _near_ melted.

"It didn't do anything at all!" Naruto shouted.

"You can't melt this ice with fire of that power level," Haku said.

"Well, at least you made it a little warmer in here," I remarked. Sasuke didn't like that statement, and so he glared at me. If we make it out of this alive, I'm going to beat that glare out of him. Haku looked as if he was about to strike! And his ice mirrors glowed. That's when I felt even more pain hit my body, knocking me off my feet! "_AAHHH_!" I screamed, I heard Sasuke and Naruto yell... They know they wanted to scream, too!

"Damn, where is he attacking from?" Naruto said, sitting up. "Is he using clones?" He stood up and looked around. "Where's the real one?"

"Trying to follow me with your eyes is useless," Haku said. "You will never be able to catch me."

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted.

"No, don't!" Sasuke yelled but it was too late. Naruto had created the clones and they were all about to attack the mirrors.

"I'll find the real one by crushing them all!" Naruto yelled. But before the Naruto clones could attack, I saw a blur zipping past all of the clones, going in and out of the mirrors!

One by one, the Naruto clones disappeared and the real Naruto came crashing down to Earth, right by Sasuke and I. "This jutsu uses the mirrors' reflections to transport me," Haku informed us. "From my point of view, you guys seem to be moving in slow motion."

"Damn it! So what? I can't die here!" Naruto said. "I have a dream I must fulfill... The dreams to have everyone acknowledge my strength! And the dream to become Hokage!"

"He's right! We all have dreams!" I said struggling to stand. "I, too, have a dream... and I can't let you kill it!" And I am not talking about that one with Sasuke!

"Dream...?" I heard Haku whisper. Man, I can hear a lot of things in this world. "Becoming a true shinobi is difficult for me... If possible, I don't want to have to kill you. Nor want you to have to kill me. But if you come at me... I can destroy my kind heart with a blade, and become a true shinobi. This bridge is the place where we fight... to connect our dreams. Me, for my dream, and you, for your dreams. Please don't hate me."

**That's kinda hard to do since... YOU'RE THROWING VERY SHARP NEEDLES AT ME!**

"I want to protect someone precious to me... to work for that person, to fight for that person, to make that person's dream come true," Haku continued. "That is my dream. For that, I can become a shinobi. I will kill you!" he finished holding up three needles. For some reason, Haku's words caused my idiot teammates to smirk. Do they not realize that this person threatened us and is _going_ to follow through with killing us? I mentally shook my head. As I said before, this world's rules will never be understood by me.

Haku didn't make a move for a while. What was he waiting for? _"For us to make an attack first?" _I thought.

"Just because I screwed up the first time doesn't mean I'm going to quit," Naruto said. We were all standing by now. "I'll try as many times as I need to! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Stop it!" Sasuke shouted, but he had already completed the jutsu. Again the clones tried to attack and yet again Haku did the same thing he had done before.

But this time I saw Haku stop and prepared to attack both me and Sasuke with more needles! _"Why me?"_ I thought as I felt the many needles pierced my skin. I cried out again in pain. I opened my eyes when the needles stopped coming and saw that there was only one Naruto.

"What the hell...!" he yelled. "One more time...! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" When the clones appeared, Sasuke kicked up some water...?

_"What is he thinking?"_ I thought as Naruto's attack failed again.

The needle attack hit me again and again making me fall again. I struggled to get up again as I glared at Naruto's body. _"I wish he would stop doing that!"_ I thought, groaning a little. _"I'm already in pain!"_ Naruto got up again and used his favorite technique! _"Oh man, more pain!"_ I closed my eyes and waiting for the needles... a full minute went by but still no needles. I opened my eyes slowly just in time to see Naruto fall to the ground again. Haku was already safely back inside the mirrors. "What just happened?" I asked.

"I got him," Sasuke said smirking. "It was only his clothes, but I'm getting the timing down." I looked at Haku's clothes and noticed the bottom of his pants was a little burnt.

"Damn it, we were so close," Naruto said.

"Naruto, can you still move?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course I can! I'm still okay!" Naruto said. Sasuke looked back at Haku with a thinking look on his face.

"You wanna fill me in Sasuke?" I asked. He didn't even spare me a glance. _"Stupid, stuck up, brat!"_ I thought darkly. Suddenly, the ice mirrors began to glow and Sasuke started to perform hand signs.

"Naruto! Ma—Sakura! Run!" Sasuke said. "Go out of here and attack from the outside!"

"O-Okay!" He didn't have to tell me us twice. The two of us ran towards one of the cracks. Naruto was in front of me, while I willed him to move faster from behind.

"Will you be able to?" Haku's voice rang in my ear.

_"Oh crap!" _I thought. _"I don't think we're going to make it!"_

Naruto didn't look like he was about to speed up anytime soon either! _"Okay! Speed! Speed! Come on, Sakura! I need your speed!"_ I thought. Luckily, I got my wish. A giant boost of chakra increased my speed. It was such a big burst that I had tackled Naruto's side, pushing him out of the cage. But before I could leave too, I felt sharp needles in my legs making me fall back. _"OW! That really hurt!" _I thought.

"_AHHH_!" I heard Sasuke yell. I turn my head slightly to see him holding his shoulder a needle was sticking out of him.

"S-Sasuke," I managed to get out.

"May—Sakura...! What are you still doing here?" I saw him pull out the needle.

"Well, I would have if Naruto hadn't been going so slow!" I muttered. I stood and pulled out the needles in my legs. _"Hurt and pain! Hurt and pain!"_ I thought as I went over to Sasuke._ "Got any more bright ideas?" _I said.

"You seem to be the smart one on the group..." Haku's voice got my attention. "I can't let you get anymore bright plans... it will slow down my victory."

Suddenly, Haku starting attacking only Sasuke with needles! The needles stuck out of his body as he fell to the floor. "Sasuke!" I said but a needle stabbed me in my hand when I tried to reach him. "OW!" I screamed. I glared at one of the mirrors as I pulled the needle out. This was not going to help my phobia of bees.

"Do not interfere," Haku said, and then he kept attacking Sasuke making him actually cry out in pain.

"Sasuke...!" I yelled._ "He's getting badly hurt!" _I thought. _"Where is Naruto?"_ I looked at to see Naruto's unmoving body outside the ice crystal. _"I guess I pushed him too hard..."_ My eyes turned back to Sasuke. He was still screaming out loud. My bleeding hand grabbed the fabric covering my chest. It had become tight and very hard to breathe. _"What should I do?" _I asked myself. _"I... don't think I can... Sasuke's hurt... Naruto's unconscious... how do you get unconscious from a push, anyway?"_ I squeezed my eyes shut. I can't do anything in this situation. I can't save us! I'm useless. Tears managed to squeeze out of my eyes. We're all going to die here and it's my entire fault for interfering in the first place. I'm too weak. I'm too useless. I can't do anything.

It felt as though my body was beginning to shut down. My legs tremble about to give out. I grabbed my head. It was hurting. This was stress wasn't it? This amount of stress had never been felt before, so naturally I freaked out about it. My neck stretched up and a massive scream escaped my mouth. I didn't want to die… I didn't want them to die either. _"NO! It can't end like this!" _My mind suddenly went blank. My body went limp, yet I did not fall.

I breathed out, lowering my head and extended my arms. _"What is this?" _My mind whispered as I slowly continued with the hand motions. I stopped on the ram sign. Of its own accord, my mouth opened. "Ishikari Style: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Feeling as light as a feather, I felt as though I was soaring. The rush that swept over me was so… right. In the next moment, I found myself staring at my body. Well, Sakura's body, of course. Her body slowly stood and looked around frantically. "What did you _do_?" Haku's voice came from Sakura's mouth.

_"How did he get there?"_ I asked myself. _"How did _I_ get here?"_ Without warning, the crystal mirrors turned back to water. I dropped down to the ground. Green eyes zoned in on me. They were giving off a very confused vibe. Before I could do much of anything, I felt that rush again. Once more, I found myself staring at Haku. _"I'm back in Sakura's body!"_

"What did you do to my body?" Haku asked. I decided to ignore him. Not just because I don't know what the hell just happened, but because I wanted to use this as an opportunity get out of this situation. My fingers latched onto Sasuke, and then dragged him away from the dangerous opponent. Of course, Sasuke screamed. Stupid bird brain couldn't take that I was pulling his hair. Annoyed, I released him. His head dropped to the ground. I winced, hearing the sound of the impact. It didn't sound like it felt good.

"M-M-Mayu, h-how did you do that?" He sat up with a glare as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know, but can we talk about this later when we're not in danger?" I could tell that I was still shaken up about this whole life and death situation. Sasuke didn't seem to understand that this was not what I signed up for when I tried to save him.

"Where did Naruto go? He was supposed to attack the outside!" Sasuke said. I cringed again.

"_Uh_… my bad… I hit him too hard, so he's kinda knocked-" I never got to finish because I felt needles go into my back shoulder! I screamed out. The pain was ten times more excruciating than the other times. I began falling forward. I managed to catch myself somewhat, only falling to my knees.

"Mayu!" I heard Sasuke call to me. I even noticed his hand reaching out, but that's when I felt a sing needle pierce my skin—at the base of my neck. A painful cough came out, and so did blood. And then nothing. I almost didn't realize that I have fallen to the ground. "You bastard!"

"S-Sasuke..." I wheezed. All the screaming I had been doing had finally taken its toll.

"Mayu…" I didn't feel it, but I was suddenly looking up at Sasuke. He looked, oddly… afraid. "Mayu... Mayu, don't you die! Don't you dare die right now!" Despite the situation, and the feeling of my body weakening, I chuckled. This was so weird that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you so concerned?" I asked. My eyelids lowered. It was getting extremely hard to keep them open. "I don't matter to you, na, Sasuke?" I managed a genuine smile. "Still, it was… fun."

"Shut up… Shut up! Don't talk like that."

"I'm not going to die, idiot," I murmured. My eyes closed. I was too tired to keep trying. "The heroine never… dies… this soon…"

"Mayu! Mayu, stay with me!" Sasuke's demands were becoming fainter. I think he might have shaken me, but I couldn't be certain. "Mayu... no... Not you, too." I wonder what he meant by 'too.' I opened my mouth to question, but talking had become tiring as well. "Don't talk—save your strength." Forcing myself, I cracked an eye open.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know you cared," I whispered.

"I don't... idiot," Sasuke said.

"Whatever... bird brain." My vision became blurry—too blurry to see what was happening. And then, it dimmed, eventually fading to black. _"Stupid eyes..."_ After that, I could no longer see or hear anything at all.

0-0

Slowly, I breathed out. I could hear my heart beating at a slow pace. It was odd considering I had only heard it when practicing. My eyes opened, and almost immediately closed because of the brightness of the room. "Why is it so white?" I hissed in my mind. My throat felt really hoarse, so it's not like I could talk. Also, there was this disgusting taste in my mouth. It tasted as though I hadn't brushed in years! It was awful. I almost gagged. It felt _gooey_ in my mouth. That couldn't be healthy at all.

I coughed out because I had made the mistake of using my tongue to get rid of the feeling in my mouth. It didn't work out. However, my actions must have alerted whoever was in the room because all of a sudden my name is being screeched into my ear. It was not a pleasant experience. Once the dizziness went away, I felt the arms around me, hugging me fiercely. "Dad, I'm gonna die!" If I could roll my eyes at that moment, then I would. Seriously, how can hugs be unique to one person only? Only Ishikari Chinoutori could bring make her feel this way. Wait… "Dad?" The person let go of me, giving me a chance to clear my eyes, and then focus. As I thought, my father stood at the side of my bed, looking as though he might shed tears.

"Mayu-chan…!" The familiar expression of adoration from my father made me smile. It was good to see him again. He moved in for another hug. After biting his shoulder—my usual way of getting out of his affectionate hug—I rubbed my head. "Does your head hu-" He was interrupted by the door slamming open. Both of us flinched at the noise. I looked over to see Ishikari Sheena standing in the doorway. She looked as strong and cool as always. "Honey, Mayu-chan is-" He was quickly shoved out of the way by my mother.

This is the result of two doting parents.

However, my mother's not usually like _this_. That concerned gentle face was not something a loved one would see too often. Then again, I'm not usually in hospitals. Wait, why was in the hospital in the first place? Before I could ask, my mother grabbed my head, crushing my forehead against her large bosom. She knows I hate it when she does this! How can I breathe with her huge ta-tas in my face? Finally, she released me, and then unceremoniously knocked me over the head. I can so feel the love, mom, thanks. She gripped my shoulders, ignoring my father's cries of 'Honey!' "Do you know how worried I was?" Her volume increased with each word she spoke. "_Jesus, it's been almost two weeks! Do you know how much your hospital bill is going to be?_!" She said that last bit in English. She only speaks her native language when she's really upset.

"Two weeks?" I actually matched her volume. "What the hell happened to me!"

"Don't cuss in front of me!" My mother held up a threatening fist, causing me to shy away. My mom spoiled me, but she was _violent_. How the hell did my father put up with such a brash women? And the rest of my family for that matter? I kinda wish I knew the story of how the hell they got together, and having my father's family accept a foreigner, too.

Speaking of my father, he popped up behind my mom. "You don't remember?" he asked. I have him a look that said 'Duh!' "You ran into a car." _Hahahahahaha!_ I could have sworn my dad said I ran into a _car_. _Ha_! My dad does have his funny moments. "I'm serious, Mayu-chan. You ran into a stopped car. Like Shee-chan said, it's been about two weeks."

"But what about…? Naruto… and Sasuke… I was with them!" I don't know why I let that come out of my mouth. Obviously it was a dream. However, instead of looking at me like I was crazy, my parents seemed alarmed. They then exchanged a look that I couldn't read. That was a strange reaction…

"When you wake up…" mother began. "The doctor said that when you wake up you would be able to attend your classes after three days. Isn't that great, Mayu?" Was she changing the subject?

"_Ah_, I see… Hey, mom-"

"MAYU!" My head snapped towards the door. Ignoring the aching of my neck, I grinned. My three best friends were making their way over to my hospital bed. They had distracted me from questioning my parents' shift in behavior.

"Guys…!" I greeted.

"How's the head? I can't believe you ran into a car." He laughed and pointed a finger; no doubt he's wanted to do that for quite some time. Ichiro was the joker of the group. I stuck my tongue out.

"It doesn't count if I can't remember!"

"I saw the whole thing!" Megumi chirped, flashing a smirk. She was the smartest—academic wise of course. "You ran after some guy after he refused to apologize for running over Ichiro-kun's bike. But the car he was driving stopped, and you didn't."

"It was like _BOOM_—down!" Ichiro remarked, causing me to glower.

"Are you alright?" Kyoko questioned. She, being thirteen, while the rest of us were twelve, was the big sister of our little group of friends.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" I grinned and clapped my hands. "You won't _believe_ the dream I had!" With eager eyes, my friends came closer. I then began the tale, starting from me waking up in Sakura's body. As I told the story, my friends' faces were amazed. It was pretty amazing that I could dream so vividly. However, I decided to leave out the dream sequence about that whole marrying Sasuke thing. That was not important! And Ichiro was bound to tease me, and call me a rapid fangirl in the future, so I definitely wasn't going to mention that. "And the next thing I know, I'm waking up with a horrible taste in my mouth," I finished. "By the way, can I have some toothpaste?"

"Yeah, your breath is really rancid," Megumi commented.

"If I knew what they meant, I would hurt you!" I threatened.

"_Teh_, you always get the cool dreams!" Ichiro crossed his arms. "I wish it was me, so that I could cuddle with Hinata-chan!" My friend blushed, causing me to roll my eyes. He had the biggest crush on the pretty girl. Then the doctor came into the room, along with my parents. I hadn't even noticed that they had left.

"Mayu-chan, you need your rest," father stated. "Your friends will have to go." I opened my mouth to protest. They had only just gotten here! "No buts! Now sleepy time now!"

"_Aww_…" I turned to my friends, waving them off. They shrugged their shoulders, and then moved to leave. I lied back down and closed my eyes. That's when a horrible thought sudden stuck me. "NOOOOOOOOO!" I sat up screaming. This, of course, alerted the ones who were about to leave my room.

"What's the matter?" mother asked.

"Are you hurt?" father questioned. I shook my head several times.

"I didn't get to see Panda-chan…!" I wailed out.

"Who?" the doctor blinked, confused. Ichiro sighed. Megumi and Kyoko shook their heads.

"That's who she calls her favorite _anime_ character," Kyoko informed them.

My mother hit me upside the head again.

0-0

Voices had made me rise from my slumber. It was such a nice dream, too. Finally, I had ended up in a Martial Arts tournament. I had kicked every opponent, and was just about to receive the award! However, just before I named international champion, I was rudely awakened. Shame… I opened my eyes, noticing that it was night. I had turned over to my side while I had slept. It was dark in the hospital room, so why were people talking in the first place? Then I heard my name. The voice that had said it belonged to my mother. "Are you sure it's her? Absolutely sure it's Mayu?" Her voice was whispering, but she must have been close to the bed.

"You heard what she said during her story!" It was father's voice. My parents must have been talking. But I was confused on what they were talking about. "She _knew_ the technique, and carried it out!"

"Tori-kun…" My mother actually _whimpered_. That was more than a little strange. What the hell is going on?

"Our first clue was how she born, Shee-chan, and how she doesn't have our eyes…" My father sounded frustrated. "We… We both knew this confirmation would come someday. I have to tell the elders."

"But we don't know for sure! Mayu is _my_ child! She and this _Mayuka_ have nothing to do with each together!"

_Eh_…?

"Sheena!" This was the first time I heard my father raise his voice to my mother. It was also the first time my mother didn't argue. "You know it's true… Mayu is the one." He voice became softer. "Mayu is actually our-"

Of course my big fat mouth had to go and yawn.

Acting quickly, I stretched, pretending that I had just woken up. I turned over to see my father and mother sitting at my bedside. My mother's eyes were adverted. My father didn't look my different. "You didn't go home…?" I feigned another yawn, hoping it was convincing.

"_Ah_… No, we didn't. Other things needed to be discussed with your doctor."

"Oh, like when I'll be discharge?" I asked.

"Yes, if we're lucky, tomorrow you'll come home," my mother sighed… in relief?

"Okay, okay… Well, I'm off to dreamland again. Goodnight, mom, dad," I pulled the covers over my chest, and then turned over. However, my eyes didn't shut. I couldn't help but wonder about that strange conversation. "What was that about?" I thought. "Who's Mayuka? And eyes…?" My eyes are blue. Naturally, I assumed that it was a recessive gene in the Ishikari family and my mother's family, so I ended up with them. But it seemed like my father was not talking about color when he said eyes. _"I don't understand…"_ My eyelids lowered completely. _Meh_, there would be plenty of time to think once I get some more sleep. Besides, there were more important things to think about—like becoming international champion of the world.

0-0

Well that was an exciting adventure! I guess my life will return to normal now that I'm out of the hospital! But what were my parents talking about? That was too strange! Hey, wait a minute! I'm back... in Naruto's world! Yes! I actually went back! Mega cool! I can't wait to see everyone in person again! Sasuke, prepare to have your butt handed to you because I'm about to kick it right off!

**NEXT TIME:**_**  
**__My Life as Hyuga Hinata_**  
**

Wait a minute! Rewind that! 'My Life as Hyuga Hinata?' What? Not _again_! Why can't I have my own body? This is so screwed up! What...? This is the chuunin exams? YAY! I get to show what I've learned since I've been in my world! PANDA-CHAN! Panda-chan is gonna be there! Oh, man! I can't wait!


End file.
